The authorities charged the accused of having committed a crime of hatred, of the murder of the officials of the embassy described as calculated and planned.
A man accused of having shot down two staff of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, was charged with federal crimes of hatred and murder, as President Donald Trump suggested that he could call on the national guard to reduce crime rates in the American capital.
The court documents filed by the Washington Federal Court and not sealed on Wednesday show that the accused Elias Rodriguez has been accused of nine charges, including a hatred crime.
The 30 -year -old is accused of having shot dead from the Israeli Embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who was about to engage, when they left an event in the capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May.
Rodriguez, who is a witness described as a rhythm outside the museum before the attack, approached the couple and opened fire.
Surveillance images then showed him in advance on Lischinsky and Milgrim while they fell on the ground, pulling additional fire while he was standing above them. Rodriguez seemed to recharge before jogging, according to officials.
Two other people who stood with the couple at the time of the attack escaped unscathed.
Rodriguez then entered the museum and admitted the killings. We heard him screaming “Free Palestine” when he was taken. Rodriguez also told the police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza”, according to the federal authorities.
The prosecutors described the killings as calculated and planned in court documents, alleging that Rodriguez had gone for Washington from Chicago with a handgun in his checkered luggage. The authorities also said that Rodriguez had bought a ticket for the event organized by the American Jewish Committee at the museum three hours before its start.
Rodriguez has already been accused of the murder of foreign officials and other crimes. Prosecutors added the accusations of hatred crimes after bringing the case to a large jury.
The indictment is also included in a special conclusions notice allowing the Ministry of Justice to potentially pursue the death penalty.
Prosecutors are now responsible for proving that Rodriguez was motivated by anti -Semitism when he opened fire on Lischinsky and Milgrim.
Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, while Milgrim organized trips to Israel for the embassy. Lischinsky, a German-Israeli citizen, bought a engagement ring a few days before he and Milgrim, a Jewish American citizen, were killed.
Also on Wednesday, President Trump said that he could deploy the National Guard in the Washington’s Streets police, telling journalists outside the White House that the capital is “very dangerous” and that it “must be the most directed place in the country”.
“We are going to embellish the city. We are going to make it beautiful. And what a shame, the crime rate, the rate of dead, the murders and everything else. We are not going to leave it,” said Trump.
“And that includes bringing the national guard, perhaps very quickly too,” he added.
Trump made his last threat of federal takeover of the American capital after a staff member who was part of the Ministry of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) was attacked during a car car during the weekend.
According to files on the police service, violent crimes in Washington fell by 26% in the first seven months of 2025 compared to last year, while overall crime decreased by 7%.
