Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers
Source: Associated Press, via WTOP
Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers
The Associated Press
May 15, 2026, 1:07 PM
This undated handout photo provided by the embassy of Israel in the U.S. shows staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Israeli citizen Yaron Lischinsky, right, and U.S. citizen Sarah Milgrim, who were shot and killed while leaving an event at a Jewish museum in Washington. (Embassy of Israel in the U.S. via AP)(AP/Embassy of Israel in the US)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.
Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the museum last May. Rodriguez shouted “Free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to his indictment.
The charges against Rodriguez include a hate crime resulting in death. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which allows prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.
“My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district — D.C. is not the place. You will be held accountable and you will face the full wrath of the law,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said at an unrelated news conference Friday in which she revealed the Justice Department’s death penalty decision.
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Read more: https://wtop.com/dc/2026/05/justice-department-to-seek-death-penalty-for-man-charged-with-killing-2-israeli-embassy-staffers/
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