D.C.’s top prosecutor says antisemitism fueled the killings of two young adults at the Capital Jewish Museum in May, and the shooter could face the death penalty.
The nine-count indictment against Elias Rodriguez includes federal hate crime and murder charges, and the death penalty is possible in the case, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said.
She explained the grand jury’s indictment laid out a framework to make a case for seeking the death penalty.
On May 21, a gunman opened fire outside the museum and killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy and soon were to be engaged, according to their families. The couple had attended an event at the museum.
Rodriguez of Chicago flew to D.C. for the purpose of killing Jewish people, according to prosecutors.
Video showed Rodriguez shouting, “Free Palestine!”
Announcing the indictment Thursday, Pirro also explained the possibility of seeking the death penalty.
“This begins the statutory process and whether to seek the death penalty,” she said. “This is a weighty decision. It takes time. There will be a rigorous process after which the capital case section in the attorney general’s office will advise the attorney general and the attorney general herself will make a decision regarding whether or not this office will seek death against Elias Rodriguez.”
A member of the FBI’s Washington Field Office said their investigation found Rodriguez intended a mass shooting to bring attention to his political agenda.
Another FBI official — Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office — also was scheduled to speak at Thursday’s news conference, but he and another senior FBI official, Brian Driscoll, were fired Thursday. Pirro did not answer questions about Jensen’s departure.
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