Suspect in shooting of Israeli Embassy staffers faces federal charges

(NewsNation) — A federal grand jury indicted Elias Rodriguez with hate crime and first-degree murder charges for allegedly shooting and killing two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., in May.

Newly confirmed federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced the charges Thursday, noting that Rodriguez was being indicted on nine charges in total:

  • Count 1: First-degree murder of a foreign official
  • Count 2 and 3: Hate crimes resulting in death
  • Count 4 and 5: Discharging a firearm while committing crime causing death
  • Count 6 and 7: First-degree murder while armed
  • Count 8 and 9: Assault with intent to kill while armed

On May 21, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were shot and killed while leaving an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum. According to officials with the Israeli Embassy, the couple were soon to be engaged.

After shooting the two staffers, police said Rodriguez yelled, “Free, Free, Palestine,” before he was arrested. According to Pirro, Rodriguez had traveled from Chicago to D.C. with an “explication” on his phone that made clear his intent to commit these crimes.

Pirro said the death penalty is not off the table and that Attorney General Pam Bondi would decide if it will be sought.

“I want to make something perfectly clear. Violence against anyone in this district will not be tolerated. Especially violence which has hate at its core and is the genesis of violence,” Pirro said. “The president put me here to do a job, to clean up the district, to make sure that crime doesn’t overshadow this phenomenal city, our nation’s capital.”

Rodriguez has not yet entered a plea. His next court appearance is Friday.

Related articles

September 26, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg_Cm2wJ5aw

‘There’s a literal civil war’: GOP candidate pushes Trump to use Insurrection Act



Don Brown, a North Carolina Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, argued that President Donald Trump should use the Insurrection Act to fight what he said was "literal civil war on the streets."

During a Monday interview on Real America's Voice, host Jake Novak asked Brown about Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops in Portland.

"I just feel like we're in a civil war here in America," Novak said. "I wish, I mean, I'm not trying to be hysterical here, but I don't know what else to call it. It's becoming kinetic. People are dying, literally. I wonder if you're as alarmed as I am?"

"You've nailed it on the head," Brown agreed. "There is a literal civil war on the streets."

The candidate argued that Trump had a duty to "ensure domestic tranquility."

"The President of the United States has the authority to send in the National Guard to these cities where domestic tranquility and rampant crime have taken over, with or without the request from the local authorities," he said. "You look into the Insurrection Act. And when Americans' constitutional rights and liberties are being threatened, the president can go ahead and send in troops."

"The president has the authority to do it. And these local leaders who are soft on crime and pro-crime and just want to kiss up to antifa and all these communist left-wing groups that are intent on unraveling civil society, they're not relevant," he added. "So I'm going to encourage the president to do what he needs to do."

A lawsuit filed by Oregon and the city of Portland asserted that Trump did not have the authority to deploy National Guard troops in response to "small" protests near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

"There is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said in a statement.

It’s Completely Trump’s Supreme Court Now, And He Knows It

President Trump notched a startling legal win Friday evening, as the Supreme Court gave an early stamp of approval to...