On Wednesday night, as Townhall has been covering, two Israeli embassy employees were murdered after attending an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, was arrested not long after and was charged on Thursday night, and was slapped with both federal charges and charges from DC. That's not the only news this week about the Rodriguez family, though, as The New York Post learned that the suspect's father, Eric Rodriguez, was invited by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) to attend President Donald Trump's speech before a joint session of Congress in March.
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As the report mentioned about Eric Rodriguez, who, like García and other Democrats, has raised concerns about Trump as well as Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” a spokesperson for Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) told The Post Thursday night.
In March, he hailed Rodriguez as “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.”
“Eric represents the very best of our community — someone who has served his country, continues to serve his fellow veterans and fights every day to protect the dignity of working people,” the congressman said in a statement at the time.
“His presence at the Joint Address is a powerful statement: we will not sit back while veterans and workers are treated as political pawns.”
“I’ve been with the VA for three years, and the reason why I’m in Washington, DC, is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system.”
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A worker at a shop near Eric Rodriguez’s Chicago home confirmed he approached the clerk, asking for a translation of an Arabic-language article about his son and the shooting on Thursday.
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Multiple attempts to reach Eric Rodriguez were unsuccessful Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, the congressman released a statement on the shooting from his official account.
"I strongly condemn this horrible, senseless act of antisemitism. My heart is with the victims and everyone impacted by the attack," García wrote. "We mourn the lives lost and reject the idea that justice can be won through violence."
— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) May 22, 2025
While it's fitting for García to call out antisemitism, as we've addressed before, including when breaking down Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D-CA) response to the shooting, the Democratic Party is the one that has a significant antisemitism problem. It's also worth wondering what, exactly, the congressman means when he mention the idea of "justice." Who is that "justice" for?
The congressman has continuously spoken out against Israel from his X account, including in a post from March going after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and expressed concern for Gaza, even defending the terrorist-infiltrated UNRWA. He also called for then President Joe Biden to halt weapons to Israel last year over the Rafah operation, which he did do, despite how he's claimed to be a pro-Israel president.
Elias Rodriguez flew from Chicago to DC, and with a gun he allegedly used to murder the victims, according to the criminal complaint. Particularly disturbing details from the complaint state how the suspect fired several times, including as one of the victims, Sarah Milgrim, "attempted to crawl away." He also said "I did it," adding "for Palestine" and "for Gaza."
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I have reviewed the criminal complaint against Elias Rodriguez. Here are the facts:
-Sarah Milgrim was shot multiple times, including when crawling away.
-Yaron Lischinsky was pronounce dead on the scene.
-Rodriguez turned himself over to police after they arrived. He told…
The newly filed charges filed against Elias Rodriguez expose the depravity and callousness of the murders. He didn't just kill Sarah and Yaron- he made sure to finish them.
He followed Sarah as she crawled away in agony after he shot her. He followed her and shot her again. He… pic.twitter.com/T2gjBzlmKR
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