The man accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy employees outside a Washington museum earlier this year pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges that prosecutors say stem from anti-Israel and antisemitic hatred.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, faces nine counts, including the murder of a foreign official and committing a hate crime resulting in death, in the May 21 killing of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26. The two were gunned down as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington.

During a brief hearing in U.S. District Court, Rodriguez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, confirmed to Judge Randolph Moss that he was satisfied with his legal representation. His attorney entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.

Prosecutors allege that Rodriguez carried out the shooting because of his hostility toward Israel and its supporters. According to court documents, Rodriguez told police at the scene, “I did it for Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza.”

The indictment also points to a series of online statements and a manifesto Rodriguez allegedly published prior to the attack, including a call to “vaporize every Israeli 18 and above” and claims that anyone associated with Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had “forfeited their humanity.”

Federal prosecutors included special findings in the indictment that could make Rodriguez eligible for the death penalty if convicted — though such a process could take years.

The Trump administration has highlighted the prosecution as part of its broader effort to confront antisemitism nationwide. Officials have launched civil rights investigations into universities and pursued the deportation of some pro-Palestinian student activists, pointing to the Rodriguez case as evidence of the need for aggressive federal action.

Lischinsky worked as a research assistant in the embassy’s political section. Milgrim was a member of the embassy’s administrative staff. The two were on the verge of becoming engaged.

They had attended a young diplomats’ gathering hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that combats antisemitism and supports Israel, just before the attack.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)