Elias Rodriguez: Israel embassy shooting suspect charged with hate crime in fatal shooting in Washington

A man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum has been indicted on federal hate crimes charges.

The indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, charges Elias Rodriguez with nine counts, including a hate crime resulting in death.

The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty.

It accuses him of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the “actual and perceived national origin of any person”. Rodriguez also faces charges of first-degree murder and murder of a foreign official.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, is accused of gunning down Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, as they left an event at the museum in May.

They had just attended an event for young professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum that was hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights anti-Semitism and supports Israel.

Rodriguez was heard shouting “Free Palestine” as he was led away after his arrest. He told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza”, federal authorities have said.

Rodriguez had previously been charged with murder of foreign officials and other crimes, and the hate crimes charges were added after prosecutors brought the case to a grand jury.

It means prosecutors will be tasked with proving Rodriguez was motivated by anti-Semitism when he opened fire on Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple who were about to become engaged.

Prosecutors have described the killing as calculated and planned, saying Rodriguez flew to the Washington region from Chicago ahead of the Capital Jewish Museum event with a handgun in his checked luggage.

He purchased a ticket for the event about three hours before it started, authorities have said in court papers.

Witnesses described him pacing outside before approaching a group of four people and opening fire.

Surveillance video showed Rodriguez advancing closer to Lischinsky and Milgrim as they fell to the ground, leaning over them and firing additional shots. He appeared to reload before jogging off, officials have said.

After the shooting, authorities say Rodriguez went inside the museum and stated that he “did it”.

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” he spontaneously said, according to court documents.

He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr”.

The indictment by a federal grand jury comes ahead of a scheduled court appearance in Rodriguez’s case on Friday.

It alleges Rodriguez had a history of violent rhetoric online against Israelis, including a plea to “vaporise every Israeli 18 and above”.

Before the shooting, he scheduled a social media post to publish later that night with a document arguing that perpetrators and abettors of Israel’s military actions in Gaza had “forfeited their humanity”, according to the indictment.

With Reuters