The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Washington museum in what U.S. authorities have called an anti-Israel hate crime pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a raft of criminal charges.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, is facing nine federal charges, including murder of a foreign official and perpetrating a hate crime resulting in death.
U.S. prosecutors have alleged that Rodriguez was motivated by hatred of Israel when he fatally shot Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington on May 21.
Rodriguez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, answered "yes" when Washington-based U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss asked if he was satisfied with his legal representation. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during a brief hearing.
The indictment cites statements Rodriguez allegedly made online before the shooting, including a call to "vaporize every Israeli 18 and above." Rodriguez told police at the scene, "I did it for Palestine" and "I did it for Gaza" and posted an online manifesto declaring that perpetrators and abettors of Israel's military actions in Gaza had "forfeited their humanity," according to court documents.
