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A Chicago man accused of shooting two Israeli Embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC, is now facing terrorism charges, as prosecutors say the deadly ambush was a premeditated attack, aimed at terrorizing the Jewish community.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, was indicted in US District Court on Wednesday on 13 counts of terrorism-related charges in the shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in DC on May 21.
Rodriguez was previously charged with murdering a foreign official, causing death by use of a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, as well as two counts of hate crime resulting in death, and two counts of first degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed.
The most advanced charge adds four counts of acts of terrorism while armed, two counts of murder and assault with intent to kill.
Elias Rodriguez of Chicago was charged with the murder of two Israeli Embassy employees on May 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Instagram/@shinewithIsrael)
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Court documents allege that Rodriguez walked up to Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, as they were leaving the “Young Diplomats Reception” at the museum, fired about 20 rounds from an automatic rifle, and shouted “Free Palestine.”
After the shooting, authorities say Rodriguez walked into a residential museum, pulled out a red keffiyeh and said, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
When police escorted Rodriguez out of the museum, he allegedly shouted, “embarrassed” and “embarrassed for fearing the Zio-nazis” at other attendees.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, speak with law enforcement officials at the scene of the shooting of two Israeli diplomatic staff on May 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
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Both Lischinsky and Milgrim died in the attack, two wounded embassy staff survived.
Darren Cox, assistant director of the FBI in charge of the Washington Field Office, said that in addition to the shooting, Rodriguez allegedly wrote and published a manifesto “trying to justify his actions morally and encourage others to commit political violence.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro added that her office will not rest until Rodriguez is held accountable for the “heinous and intentional act of terrorism.”
People gather to light candles at a makeshift memorial to honor Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were killed while leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Lischinsky was a citizen of Israel and an employee of the Government of Israel, who was in the US on official business while working for the Israeli Embassy.
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Milgrim, of Overland Park, Kansas, was also employed by the Israeli Embassy.
Several of the charges against Rodriguez carry the death penalty, with a mandatory life sentence.
