Justice Department files new terror charges against alleged killer of Israeli embassy staffers
"My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific, and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and our Jewish community," the U.S. attorney general said.
The seal of the US Department of Justice (Files)
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney general, announced new terrorism charges against Elias Rodriguez, of Chicago, who is accused of killing Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on May 21, 2025.
A new 13-count indictment, which the Justice Department said was unsealed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, includes four terrorism charges. “Several of the charges filed against Rodriguez carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment,” the department said.
Rodriguez, 31, was previously charged with killing a foreign official, gun offenses, federal hate crime charges and two counts of first-degree, premeditated murder.
“My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and our Jewish community,” Pirro stated.
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Darren Cox, assistant FBI director in charge of the Washington Field Office, stated that “in addition to allegedly murdering two innocent people and terrorizing the survivors of his attack at the Capital Jewish Museum, Rodriguez wrote and published a manifesto attempting to morally justify his actions and inspire others to commit political violence.”
“His alleged actions warrant the additional terrorism charges being announced today,” Cox said.
Per the new indictment, “Rodriguez allegedly approached the victims as they left a Young Diplomats Reception at the museum, fired approximately 20 shots from a semi-automatic handgun and called out ‘free Palestine,'” according to the Justice Department.
“After the shooting, Rodriguez entered the museum. Several event attendees were still present. Rodriguez allegedly displayed a red keffiyeh and said, ‘I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza,'” the department said. “As police removed Rodriguez from the museum, he shouted, ‘shame on you’ and ‘shame on Zio-Nazi terror’ at the remaining event attendees.”
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