A man suspected of shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in May was indicted on hate crime and murder charges on Wednesday in a federal court in Washington, D.C.
If Elias Rodriguez, the 31-year-old suspect, is convicted, he may receive the death penalty, according to the Washington Post. His indictment said he killed one of the victims “in an especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner.”
Rodriguez is suspected of shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, who were engaged and both worked at the Israeli Embassy. On May 22, they were at the museum to attend a reception for AJC Young Diplomats, a branch of the American Jewish Committee, which “stands up for Israel’s right to exist in peace and security; confronts antisemitism, no matter the source; and upholds the democratic values that unite Jews and our allies,” per its mission statement.
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Police accused Rodriguez of firing a 9mm handgun 20 times at Lischinsky and Milgrim, killing them both. He then walked into the museum, according to AJC board member Jojo Kalin, and shouted “Free Palestine.”
Kalin alleged that Rodriguez wore a keffiyeh. In his indictment, authorities wrote that Rodriguez posted on social media about “atrocities” committed by Israel in Gaza.
After the shooting, an Israeli Embassy spokesperson called on local law enforcement to “protect Israel’s representatives and Jewish communities throughout the United States.” President Donald Trump wrote on social media that “Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA.”