The Justice Department will seek to indict the man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, DC, on federal hate crime charges this week, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The indictment against Elias Rodriguez is expected to include special findings for capital punishment, where the Justice Department indicates it can pursue the death penalty, one of the sources said.
The charges, if approved by a grand jury, would position the case as a centerpiece of the Trump Justice Department’s fervent approaches toward both violent crime and targeted hate against the Jewish community.
The department vowed to seek swift and severe punishment against Rodriguez, who prosecutors say gunned down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they were leaving an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum in May. Rodriguez allegedly shot dozens of times as the pair fell to the ground and as Milgrim, mortally wounded, tried to crawl away.
The grand jury sitting in the DC federal court has heard testimony from several witnesses, including acquaintances, family and friends of Rodriguez, a third person familiar with the case told CNN. That type of testimony indicates the prosecutors were likely pursuing for weeks evidence that could back up hate crime charges as well as a capital case, rather than standard gun violence charges, the person said.
