Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, victims of the May 21, 2025, shooting attack in Washington. (Israeli Embassy in Washington)
Elias Rodriguez, charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington D.C., may face the death penalty.
By World Israel News Staff
New federal criminal charges — including hate crimes and the murder of a foreign official — were filed Wednesday against the man suspected of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, is now facing enhanced charges on top of the original first-degree murder indictment.
These new charges could significantly expand sentencing options if he is convicted.
Should prosecutors prove that the shooter was motivated by antisemitism in the deadly attack, Rodriguez could be sentenced to the death penalty.
In May, Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were shot and killed during an embassy-hosted event at a Washington museum.
According to the indictment, Rodriguez allegedly shot the couple in the back, then fired again at Milgrim as she attempted to crawl away.
Lischinsky coordinated U.S. delegations traveling to Israel, while Milgrim worked as a researcher in the political department of the embassy.
The two were in a romantic relationship and reportedly planned to become engaged soon. Lischinsky was said to be preparing to propose to Milgrim at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Rodriguez, originally from Chicago, appeared to have traveled to the capital with the intention of targeting the event.
Witnesses reported hearing him shout “Free Palestine” as he was arrested. He later allegedly told police, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
“A young couple at the beginning of their life’s journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore,” said Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in May, shortly after the killings.
“Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital,” she added.
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