Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unsealed a sweeping indictment against Elias Rodriguez, charging him with nearly ten counts, including premeditated murder and hate crimes resulting in death, in connection with the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers earlier in 2025 in Washington, DC, in the United States.
The indictment, which could lead to a rare federal death penalty case in the capital, alleges that Rodriguez was driven by antisemitic motives when he killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21.
The Justice Department now has the legal clearance to seek the death penalty, a significant milestone in what could become the district’s first such case in years.
Surveillance footage cited in the indictment reportedly shows Rodriguez approaching the victims as they prepared to leave an event.
He allegedly opened fire, striking both embassy employees, then advanced toward their fallen bodies and continued shooting.
Prosecutors say that as Milgrim attempted to crawl away, Rodriguez followed her, reloaded his weapon, and fired again after she tried to sit up.
Rodriguez has remained in federal custody since his arrest and has yet to enter a formal plea in court.
The Justice Department faces a steep challenge in proving Rodriguez’s motive beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Though a grand jury found sufficient cause to indict, securing a conviction on federal hate crime charges requires a much higher evidentiary standard.
A central question will be whether Rodriguez acted out of religious hatred or political animus.
Prosecutors acknowledge that Rodriguez made several statements at the scene and online condemning Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Upon his arrest, he reportedly told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”
In the indictment, prosecutors highlight a series of inflammatory posts and writings allegedly authored by Rodriguez, including one message from May 2024 in which he wrote, “please please please god please vaporize every Israeli 18 and above so these kids have some chance at being human.”
He is also accused of preparing a document referencing the Gaza conflict, which he scheduled to post automatically after the attack, allegedly declaring that “rhetoric has not amounted to much.”
Federal prosecutors argue that the nature of the crime, particularly the manner in which Milgrim was killed, was “especially heinous, cruel, and depraved.”
Those aggravating factors are now part of the basis for authorizing capital punishment.
If Rodriguez is convicted, the Justice Department must still decide whether to formally seek the death penalty at sentencing, a decision that will require court approval and could set a significant legal precedent in Washington, DC.
