Trump admin to seek death penalty for gunman who murdered Israeli embassy staffers

“Murdered because they were Jewish” – Attorney General Pam Bondi announces her office is seeking death penalty for Elias Rodriguez.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the terrorist gunman who shot and killed two staffers employed by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., last year, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Friday.

Speaking at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) summit held at the Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood in Florida, Bondi opened her address by recalling the May 2025 attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum that left Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, dead.

“Sarah and Yaron were shot, murdered because they were Jewish,” Bondi said. “It was horrible. Horrible. We will not tolerate that in our country any longer.”

Bondi said that her office has instructed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the gunman, 31-year-old Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez.

“We are prosecuting the monster, and we will seek the death penalty.”

The attorney general lamented the “unchecked” rise in antisemitism in the United States, mentioning the recent arson attack at a Jackson, Mississippi ,synagogue by a Mississippi teenager.

“The sad truth is for way too long, antisemitism has been allowed to grow unchecked in this country,” Bondi said.

“Too many institutions have abdicated their moral responsibility to speak up. Too many so-called leaders have stayed quiet. Action has consequences, and inaction has consequences too.”

The event was also attended by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents Florida’s 25th District.

The congresswoman rejected allegations that her party is increasingly dominated by anti-Israel figures and is in danger of dropping its support for the Jewish state.

“It is my job today and going forward to help reassure people who have angst about the Democratic Party … that the Congress of the United States remains an overwhelmingly pro-Israel governmental institution,” she said.