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yesterday

Grand Jury Indicts D.C. Museum Shooter on Hate Crime Charges and Triggers Death Penalty Review

The indictment initiates a DOJ review to determine whether federal prosecutors will pursue capital punishment under stringent hate-crime standards.

People attend a candlelight vigil at Lafayette Square across from the White House in Washington, DC on May 22 outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.
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FILE - Flowers and mementos are left by visitors outside the Capital Jewish Museum after two Israeli Embassy staff members were killed following an event at the museum, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Overview

  • Nine-count indictment by a D.C. grand jury charges Elias Rodriguez with premeditated murder, murder of foreign officials and hate crimes resulting in death over the May 21 shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
  • The indictment’s special findings clear the way for the Justice Department to seek the death penalty if convicted, prompting a mandatory review by DOJ’s Capital Case Section and final sign-off by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
  • Prosecutors plan to rely on Rodriguez’s own statements — including “I did it for Palestine” — and social media posts to meet the high evidentiary bar for proving antisemitic motivation under federal hate-crime law.
  • U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro emphasized that the death-penalty decision will follow a rigorous internal process, in which victims’ families may submit input before the attorney general determines whether to authorize capital charges.
  • The FBI describes Rodriguez as a lone wolf radicalized by anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian ideology who traveled from Chicago with a concealed 9mm handgun to carry out the attack.