OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
4:13 PM – Wednesday, August 6, 2025
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly poised to pursue federal hate crime charges and ultimately, the death penalty, in regard to the suspected killer of two Israeli Embassy staff members.
On May 21st, 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky, a German Israeli, and 26-year-old Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a U.S. citizen from Kansas, were fatally shot at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., as they left the Capital Jewish Museum. They were romantically involved and planning to eventually get married.
“It was the cutest love story,” the official said, “like a poster for a Netflix rom-com.”
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They had an upcoming trip to Israel planned, allowing Milgrim to meet Lischinsky’s family for the first time. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Lischinsky had recently purchased an engagement ring and was planning to propose to Milgrim on the trip after meeting her parents.
On the night of their death, the suspected shooter, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, was heard chanting: “Free Palestine!” authorities stated.
After the suspect purportedly shot the couple, he moved closer and then fired “several more times,” making sure they were dead. According to charging documents, 21 rounds were fired in total from a 9 mm handgun, which was later found nearby. The weapon was traced back to Rodriguez and had allegedly been illegally purchased by him in March 2020 in Illinois.
Prosecutors allege that when police arrived at the scene, Rodriguez asked to speak with them directly, saying: “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.” He was subsequently arrested.
Rodriguez has been linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a far-left and anti-Israel group active across several social media platforms. The group confirmed Rodriguez to be a member, but claimed no association with him “in over seven years.”
The Justice Department is now seeking to indict Rodriguez on federal hate crime charges this week, according to sources familiar with the case. The DOJ indicated in the indictment that they can pursue capital punishment for the crime, including the death penalty.
For this case, prosecutors need to prove that the shooting was motivated by antisemitism beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the crimes were motivated by prejudice against an individual’s “race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity,” according to the FBI.
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