Capital Jewish Museum shooting suspect indicted on murder and hate crime charges and could face death penalty
The indictment against Elias Rodriguez includes counts of premeditated murder and hate crimes resulting in death. It also includes legal findings that authorize the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty.
The step sets the stage for the Justice Department to pursue its first death penalty case out of Washington, DC, in years. It also means that the department cleared a key, and difficult hurdle – convincing a grand jury that Rodriguez's motivation for the murder was antisemitism.
Rodriguez has not yet entered a formal plea in court and has been in federal custody since the fatal shooting on May 21.
According to prosecutors, Rodriguez was caught on surveillance footage approaching the two victims as they prepared to leave an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. Rodriguez allegedly fired at the two Israeli embassy staffers several times, and then after they had fallen to the ground, leaned over them 'with his arm extended, and firing several more times.'
As Milgrim tried to crawl away, Rodriguez allegedly 'followed behind her and fired again.' Rodriguez then appeared to reload his firearm as the woman began to sit up, and, once he reloaded, he allegedly shot at her again.
Convincing a trial jury that Rodriguez committed hate crimes may still be a difficult task for the prosecutors assigned to the case, as the evidentiary standard for a conviction is far higher than the one required for an indictment.
One hurdle in proving that the murder was motivated by religious bigotry and not vitriol against the state of Israel is that Rodriguez repeatedly denounced Israel over the war in Gaza both at the scene of the crime and in alleged statements online — including his comment to police after his arrest that 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.'
And if a trial jury convicts, prosecutors will then have to prove that capital punishment is warranted, a feat that hasn't been accomplished in the district for many years. While they now have the legal authority to do so, DOJ will still have to inform a judge whether it plans to pursue a death sentence.
CNN's Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
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