Chicago Man Indicted For Hate Crime In Shooting Of Israeli Embassy Staffers

WASHINGTON, DC — A Chicago man was indicted this week in connection with the fatal shooting of two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., according to newly unsealed court documents.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, faces nine charges stemming from the May 21 shooting, including two counts of hate crime resulting in death and two counts of first-degree murder. He also faces several weapons charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said.

"This office will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez," said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. "The hate charges shed further light on his evil intent in the killing of innocent victims."

According to prosecutors, Rodriguez is accused of gunning down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said Rodriguez was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the venue after the shooting and was detained by event security.

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When he was taken into custody, Rodriguez began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said. Rodriguez told police after his arrest, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza," and that he was the one who “did it,” according to initial charging documents.

Rodriguez's indictment reveals new details about his actions leading up to the shootings.

According to prosecutors, Rodriguez flew from Chicago to Washington, D.C., two days before the shooting with a semi-automatic handgun packed in his luggage.

The same day, prosecutors said he authored a manifesto that he called “Explication,” in which he argued for the “morality of armed demonstration” and wrote that “[t]hose of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity.”

On May 21, prosecutors said Rodriguez purchased a ticket to the Young Diplomats Reception sponsored by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum, the same event attended by Lischinsky and Milgrim.

According to court documents, Rodriguez approached Lischinsky, Milgrim and two others after they walked out of the event and fired approximately 20 shots using the gun that he had brought from Chicago.

After the victims fell, prosecutors said he continued firing at close range, even as Milgrim attempted to crawl away.

Police removed Rodriguez from the event and, as he was taken away, prosecutors said Rodriguez yelled at attendees who had remained inside, “Shame on you” and “Shame on Zio-nazi terror.”

Investigators recovered the gun and 20 spent shell casings at the scene.

Multiple charges in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment. At a later date, the U.S. attorney general will decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, worked as a research assistant at the Israeli Embassy, where he was responsible for several tasks, including keeping its political department up to date on “important events and trends happening in the Middle East & North Africa,” according to his LinkedIn profile.

Milgrim worked at the Israeli Embassy’s department of public diplomacy and organized visits and missions to Israel. She was an American citizen, according to Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., Mike Herzog.

Lischinsky and Milgrim were dating each other before their deaths.

In an interview with The New York Times, Milgrim's parents said their daughter planned to travel to Jerusalem with Lischinsky to meet his family for the first time. What they didn’t know, they told the Times, is that he had bought an engagement ring before the trip.

“The ironic part is that we were worried for our daughter’s safety in Israel,” Robert Milgrim told the Times. “But she was murdered three days before going.”

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