Alleged Capital Jewish Museum shooter Elias Rodriguez indicted on federal hate crime charges
The indictment also included special findings that could make Rodriguez eligible for the death penalty.
People attend a candlelight vigil at Lafayette Square across from the White House in Washington, DC on May 22, 2025, following a shooting that left two Israeli embassy staffers dead. Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP
(JTA) — The man accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers in the back at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., in May was indicted Wednesday on federal hate crime charges.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, was indicted on nine new charges, including local charges as well as two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death.
The new charges join those already in place in the alleged murder of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, two Israeli embassy staffers who were about to be engaged, as they exited a May 21 event for young Jewish professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
The indictment alleges Rodriguez killed Milgrim “in an especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner,” noting that Rodriguez could potentially be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has not yet announced whether she plans to seek the death penalty in the case.
“This office will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez,” she said in a statement. “The hate charges shed further light on his evil intent in the killing of innocent victims.”
The indictment alleges that Rodriguez had a history of violent rhetoric online against Israelis, including one direct message sent in May 2024 that read, “please please please god please vaporize every Israeli 18 and above so these kids have some chance at becoming human.”
The night of the shooting, Rodriguez also allegedly scheduled a social media post for later that night that read, “those of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity,” according to the indictment.
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