Man Accused of Killing Israeli Embassy Staffers Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charges

Federal hate crime charges were brought Wednesday against Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of fatally shooting two Israeli staffers outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May.

According to the court documents unsealed on Wednesday, Rodriguez, 31, is accused of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the “actual and perceived national origin of any person,” when he allegedly shot Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, on May 21.

The indictments add to the original batch of charges unveiled in May. These charges included the murder of foreign officials, two counts of first-degree murder, discharge of a gun in a crime of violence, and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm.

He also faces two charges of assault with intent to kill while armed against two other people, identified as A.T. and C.S., who had also attended the event with Lischinsky and Milgrim.

Rodriguez has not yet entered a plea to the prior charges.

Lischinsky and Milgrim were employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington and had attended the “Young Diplomats Reception” held at the Capital Jewish Museum that was sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights anti-Semitism and promotes support for Israel.

Rodriguez is alleged to have shot the victims after they walked out of the museum, firing approximately 20 shots with the firearm he had allegedly brought with him from Chicago, the city of his residence and where he was born and raised.

The charges could carry the death penalty if Rodriguez is found guilty.

According to the court documents, Rodriguez entered the museum, where several attendees were still present, and displayed a red, Palestinian-style scarf known as a keffiyeh.

The document says, and video shot at the scene shows, that as police officers detained him, he repeatedly called out, “Free Palestine.”

It also highlights social media posts in which Rodriguez is alleged to have expressed support for violence against Israelis.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said in May that the staffers were romantically involved and that before they were fatally shot, Lischinsky had bought an engagement ring with the intent to propose to Milgrim the following week in Jerusalem.

In May, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, said that the shooting would be investigated as a hate crime and the charges constituted a “death penalty-eligible case.”

Pirro gave an update on the case at a press conference on Thursday, highlighting special findings by the grand jury.

“This begins the statutory process and whether to seek the death penalty. This is a weighty decision. It takes time,” the top attorney said.

“There will be a rigorous process after which the capital case section in the Attorney General’s Office will advise the Attorney General and the Attorney General herself will make a decision regarding whether or not this office will seek death against Elias Rodriguez.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department.

A statement published by the department said that an indictment “is merely an allegation” and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The indictment by a federal grand jury comes ahead of a scheduled court appearance in Rodriguez’s case on Friday.

A public defender representing Rodriguez did not immediately return a request for comment.

Reuters and Joseph Lord contributed to this report.