The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.
In a filing on Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, federal prosecutors said the government intends to pursue capital punishment on charges including the murder of a foreign official and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death.
Prosecutors allege Rodriguez intentionally killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim and carried out “substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and commit an act of terrorism.”
The filing further states that Rodriguez’s actions were motivated by “political, ideological, national and religious bias, contempt and hatred,” and that he targeted individuals he believed had attended a young professionals’ event organized by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum “to amplify the effect of his crimes.”
The notice was signed by interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
