Man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers pleads not guilty to new terrorism-related charges

The man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. last year has pleaded not guilty to new terrorism-related charges. 

Elias Rodriguez appeared in federal court Tuesday to be arraigned on four counts alleging acts of terrorism while armed. The new charges added to hate crime and other federal counts. 

Rodriguez’s federal public defender Diane Shrewsbury, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf. 

He is accused of gunning down a young couple who worked for the embassy — Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 — in May outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. 

He allegedly then returned to the museum to identify himself as the shooter and was apprehended, saying “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”   

The couple’s killing roiled the nation’s capital and sparked global outrage, as leaders rebuked the act as motivated by antisemitism.   

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has said the terrorism charges reflect “the reality that this act was in fact an act of terror.” They also carry a mandatory life sentence if convicted. 

The Justice Department has signaled it intends to seek the death penalty for Rodriguez but has not yet decided. The final call rests with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who must personally direct the prosecuting office to pursue capital punishment.   

Prosecutors already took a step toward eventually seeking a death sentence by including “special findings” in Rodriguez’s indictment.  

It comes as President Trump has pushed DOJ to pursue capital punishment for “all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” even as the death penalty has gone unused in Washington for nearly 70 years.   

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Tortorice said the government is continuing to produce discovery and move through its death penalty review process, but no timeline was given for when those processes would be completed. 

“As all have observed from Day 1, this is a complicated case,” said U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss when agreeing to extra time for case preparation. 

Rodriguez faces counts of murdering a foreign official, carrying out a hate crime resulting in death and other firearms-related charges. He pleaded not guilty to the initial indictment. 

His next court appearance was scheduled for May 5.  

Updated 10:32 a.m. EST

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