Federal prosecutors seek death penalty for Elias Rodriguez in Israeli embassy killings case

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum last May.

Rodriguez, 31, is charged in federal court with murder and hate-crime-related offenses connected to the killings of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, an Israeli citizen and researcher with the Israeli Embassy, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, an American who worked in the embassy’s public diplomacy department. Prosecutors allege the attack targeted the couple as they left a museum event and that the killings were motivated by political, ideological, national, and religious bias, along with contempt and hatred.

In the government’s filing, prosecutors seek capital punishment on multiple grounds, including a murder charge involving a foreign official, firearm offenses resulting in death, and a hate crime resulting in death. The notice also cites alleged special findings that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, while describing extensive planning and premeditation. Under federal law, Rodriguez’s age at the time of the shooting makes him legally eligible...