23-05-2025
Israeli Embassy suspect charged with murder of a foreign official
The man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., was on Thursday charged with murder of foreign officials and other charges, according to court filings.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, made his first court appearance a day after allegedly gunning down a young couple who worked for the embassy — Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 — after an event at the museum Wednesday night. Police officials said he shouted 'free, free Palestine' following his arrest.
He faces five charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, a criminal complaint shows.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh informed Rodriguez that some of the charges against him carry the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted.
Wearing a white jumpsuit but unshackled, Rodriguez was informed of his rights and appointed a public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, to represent him. He seemed attentive and at one point scanned the gallery.
No plea was entered, and a preliminary hearing was set for June 18. Rodriguez did not object to remaining detained as the case moves forward, for now.
The case is being prosecuted by Jeffrey Nestler, a veteran of the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. who handled the seditious conspiracy trial of the Oath Keepers and other high-profile Jan. 6 cases.
Police said Rodriguez, of Chicago, approached a group of four people leaving an event at the museum shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday. He fired at close range, killing Lischinsky and Milgrim, before walking into the museum, where he was apprehended.
In an interview with D.C. Metropolitan Police detectives, following the attack, Rodriguez 'expressed admiration' for airman Aaron Bushnell, who in February 2024 self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington as a form of protest meant to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an FBI affidavit. Rodriguez labeled him a 'martyr,' the affidavit said.
He flew into Reagan National Airport on Tuesday and declared a firearm in his checked baggage, according to the affidavit.
The attack drew sharp rebuke from U.S. and global leaders. Both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the killings as the result of antisemitism.
'These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
Netanyahu called the deaths 'the terrible price of anti-Semitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel.'
The FBI previously said early indications are that the shooting was a targeted act of violence.
The victims were soon set to be engaged, according to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. He told reporters that Lischinsky had purchased a ring and planned to propose in Jerusalem next week.
—Zach Schonfeld contributed to this post, which was updated at 5:34 p.m. EDT.
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