The criminal complaint describes a savage attack.
The Justice Department has charged the alleged shooter in last night’s Washington terrorist attack with offenses that, once they are indicted, would be death-penalty eligible.
Elias Rodriguez was charged in a criminal complaint with the federal crimes of murdering foreign officials (Section 1116 of the federal penal code; see also penalty provision in Section 1111) and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm (Section 924(j)), both of which carry a potential sentence of death. The criminal complaint, sworn to by an FBI agent and filed by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, also alleges that Rodriguez discharged a firearm during a crime of violence (Section 924(c)(1)(A)(III)), which carries a penalty of ten years for each offense consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, and first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years under Washington, D.C.’s penal code (Section 22-2101; see also penalty provision in Section 22-2104).
The defendant is alleged to have murdered two young Israeli Embassy staffers, 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky and 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim, who were soon to be engaged. As described in the complaint, the murders were savage. The gunman passed the couple as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. He then opened fire at close range with a 9 millimeter handgun, shooting them in the back several times.
It appears that Sarah Milgrim attempted to crawl away after being hit; the gunman followed her from behind and fired more shots into her. She was pronounced dead after being transported from the scene by emergency services personnel. Yaron Lischinsky was pronounced dead at the scene. His visa identifies him as a special diplomatic guest of the U.S. government, which would bring into play the murder of a foreign official charge described above.
The murders were captured on surveillance video. There is also a witness who saw Rodriguez, first acting strangely before the shots were fired, then again afterward. The witness told police that Rodriguez appeared to be the same person he’d seen before the shooting and that his clothes matched — particularly, a blue hooded raincoat and a backpack.
Contrary to earlier reports, it does not appear that Rodriguez told police where he discarded the gun. Rather, the witness saw him make a motion that appeared to be throwing something away after seeing him apparently try to fire a gun (but it was not firing at that point, perhaps no longer loaded). Police recovered the gun in the vicinity of where the throwing motion had occurred. Records checks confirm that the gun was purchased legally in Illinois by Rodriguez on March 6, 2020. He also apparently checked it on his flight on Tuesday from O’Hare Airport in Chicago to Reagan National Airport in D.C.
After discarding the gun, Rodriguez allegedly entered the Capital Jewish Museum, which his victims had left a few minutes earlier. Officers of the Washington Metro Police Department arrived on the scene to investigate the shooting. Rodriguez is said to have asked to speak with one of them and stated that he “did it” and was, at that point, unarmed. He was taken into custody, and stated, apparently spontaneously, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed.” He was holding a red scarf that appeared to be a “kaffiyeh,” according to a witness. As police escorted him from the museum, the complaint alleges that he shouted, “Free Palestine.”
In post-arrest statements to the FBI, Rodriguez expressed admiration for Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. Air Force member who self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on February 25, 2024. He said he regarded Bushnell as a “martyr.”
The alleged shooter also told the FBI he had purchased a ticket to the event at the museum approximately three hours before it commenced. The event, hosted by the American Jewish Committee, aimed to “bring together Jewish young professionals and the diplomatic community.”
As I explained earlier, a complaint is a sworn statement laying out probable cause. Given that the defendant will be detained, the Justice Department has ten business days to file an indictment. That time can be extended by agreement of the parties, and frequently is. Apart from the usual communications between prosecutors and defense lawyers, there are extensive pre-indictment procedures in capital cases, in which — assuming the government is inclined to charge capital murder — defense lawyers attempt to persuade the government not to seek the death penalty.
Jeanine Pirro, recently named the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., by President Trump, said the decision on whether to seek the death penalty has not yet been made. This is what she should say since, as I stressed in the earlier post, it is important that DOJ follow its procedures to the letter in capital cases.