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Accused DC Shooter Elias Rodriguez Idolized Man Who Set Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy: Court Documents
Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, taken into custody by police for allegedly shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
The suspect who allegedly murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night expressed admiration for a man who set himself on fire outside the embassy last year to protest the war in Gaza, according to newly released court documents.
Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old left-wing and anti-Israel activist from Chicago, was charged on Thursday in US federal court with two counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple about to become engaged to be married, as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum for young professionals and diplomatic staff hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
In addition to murder, Rodriguez was charged in a criminal complaint with murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm, and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
An affidavit filed by US federal authorities in support of the criminal complaint charging Rodriguez revealed that he said at the scene of the shooting, “I did it for Palestine; I did it for Gaza.” He also chanted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine” after being taken into custody, according to video of the incident.
The court document also explained that Rodriguez told law enforcement that he idolized Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the US Air Force who died after setting himself on fire outside the front gate of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in February 2024. Bushnell was protesting Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza. He said in a video of the incident that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide” and chanted “Free Palestine” while pouring liquid over himself and igniting it.
“During an interview with MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] detectives, after having been advised of his Miranda rights and after waiving them, Rodriguez expressed admiration for the actions of an individual who self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, on Feb. 25, 2024, as a form of protest intended to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the affidavit stated. “Rodriguez described this person’s actions as courageous and labeled him a ‘martyr.’”
As Jewish communities worldwide deal with the shock of Wednesday night’s shooting, details have emerged about Rodriguez showing he has maintained ties to extremist left-wing groups and held virulent anti-Israel views.
Rodriguez was involved with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a far-left organization that has previously called for the “extermination” of all Zionists, according to a review of his history and information obtained by The Algemeiner.
The Chicago chapter of PSL has routinely called for violence and “armed resistance” against Israel. The organization declares that Israel is an “apartheid state” and a result of “settler-colonialism,” while venerating Hamas as a legitimate “resistance.” PSL has also expressed open support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist group, and has hosted reading sessions of works penned by PFLP founder Ghassan Kanafani.
PSL holds large rallies in which attendees openly endorse terrorism against the Jewish state and call for its elimination. Earlier this month, PSL joined a coalition of other far-left organizations to hold a protest outside of the Israeli consulate in Chicago.
In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, PSL organized an event titled “Gaza Fights for Freedom.” Additionally, PSL Chicago partnered with several prominent anti-Israel organizations, such as the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), and the Palestine Feminist Collective.
In the aftermath of Wednesday night’s shooting, PSL has attempted to distance itself from Rodriguez, claiming that the alleged murderer is only associated with the group in a limited capacity and does not currently hold a membership. However, in an April 2025 picture posted to Facebook, a person resembling Rodriguez participated in a “Socialist Reconstruction Study Group” workshop hosted by PSL.
“Through collective study, we mapped the contradictions of US foreign policy and discussed tactics to organize within the imperial core,” the group said of the gathering. “By understanding imperialism’s motivations, we explored the revolutionary possibilities that emerge in its wake — and how to build that future now, through concrete struggle.”
Rodriguez is also suspected to have maintained an anonymous X/Twitter account, in which he called for violence against Israel. The account, named “kyodo.leather,” was started just two weeks after the Oct. 7 slaughters in Israel. It endorsed a video calling to “bomb Tel Aviv” and praised the conduct of the Hamas terrorist group. The social media account also allegedly shared videos glorifying Hasan Nasrallah, the now-deceased leader of Hezbollah, another Islamist terrorist organization.
Early Thursday, investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein published a manifesto allegedly belonging to Rodriguez. In the 900-word document, Rodriguez seemingly confirms that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war motivated him to act.
“A word about the morality of armed demonstration. Those of us against the genocide take satisfaction in arguing that the perpetrators and abettors have forfeited their humanity,” Rodriguez allegedly wrote. “I sympathize with this viewpoint and understand its value in soothing the psyche which cannot bear to accept the atrocities it witnesses, even mediated through the screen. But inhumanity has long since shown itself to be shockingly common, mundane, prosaically human. A perpetrator may then be a loving parent, a filial child, a generous and charitable friend, an amiable stranger, capable of moral strength at times when it suits him and sometimes even when it does not, and yet be a monster all the same. Humanity doesn’t exempt one from accountability.”
The post Accused DC Shooter Elias Rodriguez Idolized Man Who Set Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy: Court Documents first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
The post Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
The post 4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The post Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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