The United States Department of Justice has announced it will seek the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of fatally shooting two people outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC last year. The decision was revealed in a court filing on Friday by prosecutors, who described the killings as calculated and premeditated.
Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the deaths of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were leaving an event at the museum in May 2025. According to his indictment, Rodriguez shouted “free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” The charges include a hate crime resulting in death, with special findings that enable prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.
Prosecutors allege that Rodriguez flew from Chicago to the Washington area with a handgun in his checked luggage ahead of the event. Witnesses reported seeing him pacing outside before approaching a group of four people and opening fire. Surveillance footage shows Rodriguez advancing towards Lischinsky and Milgrim as they fell, leaning over them to fire additional shots. He then reloaded and jogged away from the scene.
After the shooting, Rodriguez entered the museum and reportedly said, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.” He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty air force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr.”
The hate crime charges require prosecutors to prove that Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism. Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen working in the US, while Milgrim was a US citizen. The couple were reportedly about to become engaged. The killings prompted bipartisan outrage from lawmakers in the capital.
