By Andrew Goudsward, Reuters
A tribute and flowers for Israeli Embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim are seen outside the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. Photo: ANNA MONEYMAKER / AFP
The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Washington museum in what US authorities have called an anti-Israel hate crime pleaded not guilty on Thursday (local time) to a raft of criminal charges.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, is facing nine federal charges including murder of a foreign official and perpetrating a hate crime resulting in death.
US prosecutors have alleged that Rodriguez was motivated by hatred of Israel when he fatally shot Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington on 21 May.
Rodriguez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, answered "yes" when Washington-based US District Judge Randolph Moss asked if he was satisfied with his legal representation. His lawyer entered the not guilty plea on his behalf during a brief hearing.
The indictment cites statements Rodriguez allegedly made online prior to the shooting, including a call to "vaporize every Israeli 18 and above".
Rodriguez told police at the scene, "I did it for Palestine" and "I did it for Gaza" and posted an online manifesto declaring that perpetrators and abettors of Israel's military actions in Gaza had "forfeited their humanity", according to court documents.
FBI agents cordon off the scene outside the Capital Jewish Museum following a shooting that left two people dead, in Washington. Photo: AFP/ALEX WROBLEWSKI
The indictment includes findings that would make Rodriguez eligible for the death penalty if convicted, the start of what would likely be a years-long process.
President Donald Trump's administration has touted the case and the hate crime charges as part of its larger effort to confront antisemitism, which has also included a series of civil rights investigations into colleges and universities and attempts to deport some pro-Palestinian student activists.
Lischinsky, a research assistant in the embassy's political section, and Milgrim, a member of the embassy's administrative staff, were about to be engaged at the time of the shooting. They were attending an event for young diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
- Reuters
