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Authorities charged the suspect with carrying retired a hatred crime, with the execution of the embassy officials described arsenic calculated and planned.
Published On 7 Aug 2025
A antheral accused of shooting dormant 2 Israeli embassy unit members successful Washington, DC, has been indicted connected national hatred transgression and execution charges, arsenic President Donald Trump suggested helium whitethorn telephone connected the National Guard to bring down transgression rates successful the United States capital.
Court documents filed successful national tribunal successful Washington and unsealed connected Wednesday amusement that suspect Elias Rodriguez has been charged with 9 counts, including a hatred transgression resulting successful death.
The 30-year-old is accused of shooting dead Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young mates who were astir to go engaged, arsenic they near an lawsuit astatine the Capital Jewish Museum successful Washington successful May.
Rodriguez, who witnesses described arsenic pacing extracurricular the depository earlier the attack, approached the mates and opened fire.
Surveillance footage past showed him beforehand connected Lischinsky and Milgrim arsenic they fell to the ground, firing further shots arsenic helium stood implicit them. Rodriguez appeared to reload earlier jogging off, according to officials.
Two different radical who were lasting with the mates astatine the clip of the onslaught escaped unharmed.
Rodriguez past entered the depository and confessed to the killings. He was heard shouting “Free Palestine” arsenic helium was led away. Rodriguez besides told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza “, according to national authorities.
Prosecutors described the killings arsenic calculated and planned successful tribunal papers, alleging that Rodriguez flew to Washington from Chicago with a handgun successful his checked luggage. Authorities besides claimed Rodriguez purchased a summons for the American Jewish Committee-organised lawsuit astatine the depository 3 hours earlier it started.
Rodriguez was antecedently charged with the execution of overseas officials and different crimes. Prosecutors added the hatred crimes charges aft bringing the lawsuit to a expansive jury.
Also included successful the indictment is simply a announcement of peculiar findings allowing the Department of Justice to perchance prosecute the decease penalty.
Prosecutors are present tasked with proving that Rodriguez was motivated by anti-Semitism erstwhile helium opened occurrence connected Lischinsky and Milgrim.
Lischinsky was a probe adjunct astatine the Israeli embassy successful Washington, DC, portion Milgrim organised trips to Israel for the embassy. Lischinsky, a German-Israeli citizen, had reportedly bought an engagement ringing days earlier helium and Milgrim, a Jewish US citizen, were killed.
Also connected Wednesday, President Trump said helium whitethorn deploy the National Guard to constabulary Washington’s streets, telling reporters extracurricular the White House that the superior is “very unsafe” and it “has to beryllium the best-run spot successful the country”.
“We’re going to beautify the city. We’re going to marque it beautiful. And what a shame, the complaint of crime, the complaint of muggings, killings and everything else. We’re not going to fto it,” Trump said.
“And that includes bringing successful the National Guard, possibly precise quickly, too,” helium added.
Trump made his latest menace of a national takeover of the US superior aft a staffer who was portion of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was assaulted during a carjacking implicit the weekend.
According to records connected the constabulary department’s website, convulsive transgression successful Washington was down 26 percent successful the archetypal 7 months of 2025 compared with past year, portion wide transgression was down immoderate 7 percent.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US) ·