Chicago Man Charged With Terrorism in Fatal Shooting of Israeli Embassy Staffers

Terrorism charges have been added to the criminal case against a man accused of carrying out last May’s deadly shooting outside the Capitol Jewish Museum.

A superseding indictment unsealed on Feb. 4 charges Elias Rodriguez of Chicago with four counts of committing an act of terrorism while armed, and adds a federal statutory aggravating factor alleging premeditation to commit acts of terrorism. The new charges stem from the shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy employees, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

Prosecutors allege Rodriguez, 31, fired 20 rounds from a handgun at Lischinsky, 30, Milgrim, 26, and several others as they were leaving a Young Diplomats Reception at the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025. After the shooting, Rodriguez allegedly walked into the museum and declared, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”

As police officers tried to remove him from the building, Rodriguez shouted “shame on Zio-nazi terror” at remaining attendees, according to the indictment.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro called the killings “a targeted act of terror” against the victims and the broader Jewish community.

“These additional terrorism-related charges carry a mandatory life sentence under D.C. Code, while also reflecting the reality that this was in fact an act of terror,” Pirro said in a press release.

Rodriguez still faces two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed under D.C. law. He also faces several federal charges, including murder of a foreign official, causing death through the use of a firearm, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of hate crime resulting in death. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

With the superseding indictment, Rodriguez could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted, according to Pirro. Prosecutors have not yet filed a formal notice of intent to seek capital punishment.

An earlier indictment unsealed in August 2025 alleged that, in the months before the shooting, Rodriguez sent a direct message calling for the death of “every Israeli [aged] 18 and above.” The day before the attack, he allegedly wrote a manifesto urging anti-Israel activists to go beyond “rhetoric” in opposing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

“A word about the morality of armed demonstration,” Rodriguez wrote, according to the document. “Those of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity.”

A public defender listed as representing Rodriguez did not respond to a request for comment.

On June 1, 2025, less than two weeks after the Capital Jewish Museum shooting, a separate attack took place in Boulder, Colorado, when a man threw Molotov cocktails at a gathering held to call attention to Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Investigators said the suspect in that case could be heard yelling “free Palestine” while hurling the firebombs at the group.

An 82-year-old woman later died from burns she suffered in the Colorado attack.