DOJ seeks death penalty for man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers

Federal prosecutors argued that the man accused of fatally shooting embassy workers in Washington, D.C., last May should receive the death penalty, according to a court filing submitted on Friday. Elias Rodriguez intentionally killed Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky outside the Capital Jewish Museum, the U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro alleged in a Friday court filing.

Rodriguez traveled from Chicago to Washington with the semiautomatic handgun used in the attack, according to the indictment. The accused shooter allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the shooting, then entered the museum reception area with a red keffiyeh and yelled, “I did it for Palestine,” the indictment added.

Prosecutors said they also documented a string of anti-Semitic social media activity from Rodriguez, starting on Jan. 1, 2024, when he posted “Happy New Year, Death To Israel.” Officials ultimately brought two hate crime charges against Rodriguez, along with one count of murdering a foreign official, two counts of premeditated murder, and four more assault and firearms charges.

Is the hate crime element why prosecutors are seeking the death penalty? The charges for murdering a foreign official and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, causing death, justify a death sentence, according to the Friday filing. Pirro did allege that political, ideological, national, and religious bias motivated the shooter, arguing that Rodriguez specifically targeted the couple as they were leaving an event by the American Jewish Committee.

What do we know about the victims’ beliefs? Lischinsky was a Messianic Jew, a believer in Yeshua, or Jesus, as the Jewish messiah, according to Sandy Shoshani. Shoshani is a ministry leader at Melech Hamlachim, or “King of Kings,” a Messianic Jewish congregation in Jerusalem. Shoshani told WORLD’s Elizabeth Black last year that Lischinsky was an active member at the congregation throughout high school and college before moving away for his master’s degree studies. Milgrim grew up attending a Jewish congregation and was involved with the LGBTQ-friendly synagogue Bet Mishpachah in Washington, according to Jewish publication Forward. Messianic Jewish musician Misha Goetz, who lives in the Washington area and has met Milgrim, posted on Facebook shortly after their deaths that she believed Milgrim also became a Messianic Jew sometime in the preceding year.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report for an intimate look at Lischinsky’s belief in Jesus as a practicing Messianic Jew before his death.