Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers
May 15, 2026, 9:25 AM | Updated: 10:08 am
The U.S. Department of Justice logo is before a news conference, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.
Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the museum last May. Rodriguez shouted “Free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to his indictment.
The charges against Rodriguez include a hate crime resulting in death. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which allows prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.
The hate crimes charges mean prosecutors will have to prove that Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism when he opened fire on Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple who were about to become engaged. Milgrim was a U.S. citizen. Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen working in the U.S.
