Capital Jewish Museum Shooter Faces Terrorism Charges

The man accused of murdering Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum last May now faces terrorism charges, according to a new indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

The suspected killer, Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, was previously indicted on charges of murder and hate crime in the May 21, 2025, killing of Lischinsky and Milgrim, while attending an event for diplomats and young professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Two additional employees of the embassy were reported wounded in the shooting.

Yaron Lischinsky, 30, an Israeli citizen, and Milgrim, 26, a U.S. citizen, both employees at the embassy, were planning to announce their engagement to their families on a trip to Israel to visit the Lischinsky family, planned for the following week.

Yaron Lischinsky was the younger brother of Hanan Lischinsky, News Desk Manager at All Israel News.

In addition to the four new terrorism charges, Rodriguez was previously charged with the "murder of a foreign official, causing death through the use of a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death, and two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed under the D.C. criminal code."

"My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific, and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and our Jewish community," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement Wednesday. "These additional terrorism-related charges carry a mandatory life sentence under D.C. Code, while also reflecting the reality that this act was in fact an act of terror."

Several of the charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death. In January, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty for Rodriguez while addressing the Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit in Hollywood, Florida.

Prosecutors accuse Rodriguez of opening fire on a group of people leaving the event at the Capital Jewish Museum, which Yaron Lischinsky and Milgrim had both attended.

According to the prosecutors, Rodriguez fired around 20 rounds from a semi-automatic handgun. Witnesses at the scene said that Rodriguez shouted, "Free Palestine" immediately after the shooting, and took out a red keffiyeh while waiting for police to arrive. He also was reported to have said, "I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza."

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office agreed with the new terrorism charges.

"In addition to allegedly murdering two innocent people and terrorizing the survivors of his attack at the Capital Jewish Museum, Rodriguez wrote and published a manifesto attempting to morally justify his actions and inspire others to commit political violence," Cox said. "His alleged actions warrant the additional terrorism charges being announced today."

The case against Rodriguez is being investigated jointly by the FBI's Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Republished with permission from All Israel News.