Authorities in the District of Columbia announced on Thursday that they filed federal hate crime charges against Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the fatal shooting in May of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. 

The indictment on nine counts, filed on Wednesday, includes a charge relating to a hate crime resulting in death and comes more than two months after Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, the murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a violent crime for the May 21 attack. 

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning about the new charges, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that the indictment was a continuation of “our journey to seek justice for not only two, but four victims of this horrific crime, which has had enormous consequences and repercussions, not just in the District, but nationwide and worldwide, not only affecting these victims and their families, but opening old wounds and revictimizing victims of past antisemitism.”

“A D.C. grand jury has charged in this indictment two hate crimes, alleging that he murdered Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim because of his bias against the people of Israel. He demonstrated this hatred through his words, ‘Death to Israel,’ and his violent actions against Yaron and Sarah and their co-workers from the Israeli Embassy,” Pirro said.

Pirro, who said in May that Rodriguez was eligible for the death penalty while vowing to prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law, said on Thursday that the indictment “begins the statutory process on whether to seek the death penalty.” 

“This is a weighty decision. It takes time. There will be a rigorous process, after which the capital case section in the attorney general’s office will advise the attorney general and the attorney general herself will make a decision regarding whether or not this office will seek death against Elias Rodriguez,” Pirro said. 

“We are starting the process. We’ve made no decision yet,” she added of seeking the death penalty, again noting that Attorney General Pam Bondi “will determine whether or not to authorize my office to seek death.”

Pirro added that Lischinsky and Milgrim’s parents, with whom she’s been in contact, had been made aware that “they will have an opportunity and a right to put their input into what decision is ultimately made” on if the Justice Department will seek capital punishment. 

Rodriguez will appear in federal court in D.C. on Friday for a hearing on the broader indictment against him, where more details about the new charges are expected to be discussed. 

The new filing alleges that Rodriguez flew from Chicago, Ill., to Washington the day before the attack with “a Heckler and Koch VP9 SK 9mm semi-automatic handgun packed in his luggage,” and wrote in a document dated that same day that, “Those of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity.” 

He purchased a ticket the next day to the reception taking place later that evening for young diplomats and Jewish professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee in the nation’s capital.

Lischinsky and Milgrim, a couple who worked at the Israeli Embassy, were shot at point-blank range while leaving the museum event. Rodriguez, a 31-year-old Chicago native, was seen on video shouting “free Palestine” after the attack. A witness to the attack told Jewish Insider that Rodriguez also shouted, “I did it for Gaza.”

In addition to Lischinsky and Milgrim, Rodriguez also assaulted two individuals, referred to in the indictment as C.S. and A.T., “with the intent to kill a person,” Pirro said on Thursday.

Reid Davis, the special agent in charge for the FBI Washington field office’s criminal division, said investigators believe Rodriguez acted alone and was “motivated by anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian ideology.”

Davis said that the “FBI investigation to date indicates that the subject acted alone with the intent to commit a violent act in the District of Columbia. Based on his writings and communications, we believe he was a lone-wolf actor motivated by anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian ideology, with the goal of conducting a mass shooting to call attention to his political agenda.”

The indictment also claims that Rodriguez expressed support for violence against Israelis in correspondence on social media prior to the attack. It states that he sent a direct message through a social media platform in May of 2024 that stated: “please please please god please vaporize every Israeli 18 and above so these kids have some chance at becoming human,” according to the indictment.

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said at Thursday’s presser that her office, which oversees the certification of any federal hate crime charges, moved to do so “in this case with alacrity.” 

“The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that every community in these United States is safe from violence, intimidation and discrimination, as in this case,” Dhillon said. “This indictment reflects our ongoing commitment to hold these criminals accountable, and we will continue to relentlessly pursue justice for Yaron and Sarah, their families and their communities.”

“I hope this beginning of this process brings some comfort to the many people in this community who have approached the Department of Justice and expressed their deep concern for their safety. I think no one can claim that this is not a serious problem here in our district right now, and it is embarrassing as an American to see that,” she continued.

Pirro, who was confirmed by the Senate to her role last week after being appointed by President Donald Trump in early May, vowed in closing remarks that “violence against anyone in this District will not be tolerated, especially violence which has hate at its core and is the genesis of violence.”

“The president put me here to do a job, to clean up the district, to make sure that crime doesn’t overshadow this phenomenal city, our nation’s capital. I have, throughout my career, fought antisemitism for 32 years as a prosecutor and a judge. I fight hate crimes with a vengeance,” Pirro said, referencing her tenure as Westchester County, N.Y., district attorney.

D.C. Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Ramey J. Kyle, who leads the Investigative Services Bureau, said that the new charges emphasized their “collective commitment” to ensuring Rodriguez faces the maximum penalty for these murders.

“The charges unveiled here this morning underscore our collective commitment to ensuring Rodriguez faces the maximum punishment possible,” Kyle said.

News of the indictment was well received by leading Jewish organizations.

The American Jewish Committee said in a statement that Milgrim and Lischinsky’s “young lives and full potential were horrifically stolen,” calling their murders a “deliberate and heinous act” that was “a deeply personal tragedy for their families and for the entire AJC community.” 

“It was an assault on the values we hold as Americans, as Jews, and as members of a shared society. Their families deserve justice and healing. We are grateful for the vigor with which the Department of Justice has proceeded thus far, and are confident that it will diligently continue its pursuit of justice for this murderous hate crime,” the statement read. 

“The May 21 shooting outside the Museum was motivated by hatred but we will not allow acts of terrorism to silence or isolate us. We honor the memories of Sarah and Yaron by remembering their values, their work, and the life they should have lived together and by redoubling our efforts to ensure that the Jewish people and the State of Israel are safe and thriving and to build a world grounded in respect, safety, and justice,” it continued. 

The Anti-Defamation League wrote in a social media post that they “welcome these charges as an important step toward justice for the families of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim and the greater Jewish community. May their memories always be for a blessing.”