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Rodriguez Indicted on Hate Crime and Murder Charges, Clears Path for Death Penalty

The grand jury’s move enables prosecutors to seek capital punishment by building evidence of antisemitic bias behind the May killings of two Israeli Embassy staffers

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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)
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.
A photograph of Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky is displayed outside the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2025.

Overview

  • The nine-count indictment charges Rodriguez with premeditated murder and hate crimes resulting in death and incorporates special findings authorizing a capital punishment request.
  • Prosecutors must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the attack was driven by antisemitic bias rather than political opposition to Israel under federal hate crime law.
  • Evidence cited in the indictment includes surveillance footage of Rodriguez reloading and firing dozens of rounds as victims crawled away and his on-scene declarations of "I did it for Palestine" and "Free, free Palestine."
  • Federal filings trace Rodriguez’s 9 mm handgun to a March 2020 legal purchase in Illinois and show he traveled from Chicago to Washington with the weapon in checked luggage.
  • The case represents a rare effort to secure a death penalty sentence in Washington, D.C., reflecting an executive-branch directive to seek capital punishment for severe bias-motivated crimes.