Feds to seek death penalty for Chicago suspect in Jewish museum shooting
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for the Chicago man charged in connection with the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., one year ago.
What we know:
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty for Rodriguez on Friday in federal court.
Pirro argued that the alleged charges against Rodriguez justified the death penalty if he were to be convicted.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 23: A tribute and flowers for Israeli Embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim are seen outside the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum on May 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. A suspect, identified as E
Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder and the murder of foreign officials, among other criminal charges, in connection with the deaths of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26.
The couple was shot and killed when they were leaving an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21 when Rodriguez allegedly approached their group and opened fire. Prosecutors said the shooting was captured on video.
Rodriguez then went inside the museum and allegedly said, "I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza."
Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to the charges.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 22: Crime scene tape is stretched across the front of a building where shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez lived while law enforcement officials from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force and Chicago Police participate in a search
Prosecutors also alleged in court documents that days before the shooting, Rodriguez had purchased a body-worn camera to record the shooting "from a first-person perspective."
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that Milgrim was an American employee of the embassy and Lischinsky was Israeli. The couple were preparing to get engaged.
Rodriguez is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago, and later worked for The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. He was also employed at the American Osteopathic Information Association.
Next-door neighbors to Rodriguez back in Chicago told Fox Chicago that the suspect was a "normal, friendly guy" and that they never would have suspected he was capable of such an alleged action.
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES - MAY 22:A sign calling for justice for Wadea hangs in the window of an apartment reported to belong to shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents conduct a raid at the Chicago residence
In Rodriguez’s apartment window was a poster that read "Justice for Wadea," referring to Wadea al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was killed by his Will County landlord in a 2023 hate crime that drew national attention.
Requests for comments from Rodriguez’s attorneys about the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeking the death penalty were not immediately returned on Saturday.