A man from Chicago is facing extensive terrorism charges after allegedly shooting two staff members from the Israeli Embassy outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors assert that the attack was a premeditated and ideologically motivated effort to instill fear within the Jewish community.
Elias Rodriguez, aged 31, has been indicted on 13 counts, including several terrorism-related charges, for the fatal shooting on May 21 of two Israeli Embassy employees near the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. This indictment was revealed in the U.S. District Court on Wednesday.
Rodriguez’s earlier charges included the murder of a foreign official, the use of a firearm resulting in death, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. He also faced federal charges for hate crimes resulting in death and counts of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, along with assault with intent to kill while armed.
The latest indictment introduces four charges of committing acts of terrorism while armed, along with additional counts of first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill.
Elias Rodriguez from Chicago has been charged with the killings of two Israeli Embassy staff members on May 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Instagram/@shinewithIsrael)
According to court documents, Rodriguez allegedly confronted Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, as they exited a Young Diplomats Reception at the museum. He reportedly fired around 20 shots from a semi-automatic handgun while shouting, “Free Palestine.”
After the shooting, authorities claim, Rodriguez entered the occupied museum, pulled out a red keffiyeh and said, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
As police removed Rodriguez from the museum, he allegedly shouted, “Shame on you” and “Shame on Zio-nazi terror” at the remaining event attendees.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speak to law enforcement officials at the site of the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers May 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Lischinsky and Milgrim died in the attack, and two wounded embassy workers survived.
Darren Cox, FBI assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office, said, in addition to the shooting, Rodriguez allegedly wrote and published a manifesto “attempting to morally justify his actions and inspire others to commit political violence.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro added her office will not rest until Rodriguez is held accountable for the “horrific and targeted act of terror.”
People gather to light candles at a makeshift memorial to honor Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen and employee of the Government of Israel who was in the U.S. on official business while working for the Israeli Embassy.
Milgrim, Overland Park, Kansas, was also employed by the Israeli Embassy.
Several of the charges filed against Rodriguez carry a maximum penalty of death and a mandatory life sentence.
