Justice Department Seeking Death Penalty for Shooter of Israeli Embassy Staffers in DC

Latest Developments

Death Penalty Sought: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will seek to indict Elias Rodriguez — accused of murdering two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC, in May — on federal hate crime charges, which are likely to include special findings justifying the death penalty. On May 21, Chicago resident Rodriguez shot and killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as the couple left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, shouting “Free Palestine” as he did so. Should he receive the death penalty, Rodriguez would face the same fate as neo-Nazi gunman Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 Jewish worshipers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 and was sentenced to death in 2023 after a jury found him guilty on 63 federal charges.
Recent Violent Antisemitism in America: On August 5, several cars were set ablaze and anti-Israel graffiti was sprayed in a St. Louis residential area during an attack targeting an American citizen returning from service with the IDF. Leo Terrell, the chair of the DOJ’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, called the incident a “horrific antisemitic attack” and said that he had contacted the FBI to investigate further. Other significant attacks this year included the attempted arson by a Hamas sympathizer of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion during Passover on April 13 and a June 1 attack on members of a Boulder, Colorado-based pro-Israel group who were the targets of a “makeshift flamethrower” thrown by Mohamed Soliman, an Egyptian national, which resulted in eight people being injured, one of whom, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, later died of her wounds. Soliman, charged with federal hate crimes, shouted “Free Palestine” as he carried out what FBI Director Kash Patel called a “targeted terror attack.”
Antisemitic Incidents Massively Increase Since October 7, 2023: Worldwide antisemitic attacks have risen significantly since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel. The Anti-Defamation League tracked 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States alone in 2023, a 140 percent increase from 2022, rising to 9,354 in 2024. In France, the Protection Service for the Jewish Community tracked nearly 1,600 incidents in 2024, while in Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded a 316 percent increase in antisemitic acts between October 1, 2023, and September 20, 2024.

FDD Expert Response

“Jewish communities outside of Israel have become a particularly vulnerable front in the multi-front war triggered by the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023. The DOJ charges against Rodriguez are an encouraging sign that offenders will face the full weight of the law, and are a welcome contrast with much of Europe, where antisemitic assailants frequently receive non-custodial sentences or small fines — assuming that they are even prosecuted in the first place.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director

“Even with the massive surge in antisemitism globally, the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim stand apart for their heinousness. The United States must demonstrate that it, in the words of George Washington, ‘gives to bigotry no sanction’ and prosecute the murderer to the fullest extent of the law. But it is also important to push back against the incitement and lies directed at Israel and the Jews that allow killers to justify gunning down innocents in the streets of our capital.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst