The father of the man charged with shooting dead two staffers from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C, on Wednesday night was invited to witness President Donald Trump’s Joint Speech to Congress in March.
Elias Rodriguez, 30, a Chicago resident, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Thursday over the killing of Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside of the Capital Jewish Museum, where the couple had just attended an event on humanitarian aid for Gaza. Lischinsky was about to propose to Milgrim, officials have said.
It has since emerged that the suspect’s father, Eric Rodrguez, visited D.C. to witness Trump’s address to lawmakers on March 5 as a guest of a Democratic congressman.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia told The New York Post.
The representative paid tribute to Eric Rodriguez at the time of the speech by calling him “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.”
He added: “Eric represents the very best of our community – someone who has served his country, continues to serve his fellow veterans and fights every day to protect the dignity of working people.
“His presence at the Joint Address is a powerful statement: we will not sit back while veterans and workers are treated as political pawns.”
Eric Rodriguez also appeared in a Service Employees International Union video on the same day, in which he described himself as an Iraq War veteran and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) employee.
“I’ve been with the VA for three years, and the reason why I’m in Washington, D.C., is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system,” he said.
Congressman Garcia responded to the tragic shooting on Thursday by writing on X: “I strongly condemn this horrible, senseless act of antisemitism. My heart is with the victims and everyone impacted by the attack.”
Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said Rodriguez was seen pacing outside the venue before the attack and afterwards tried to get inside before being detained by security.
He chanted “free, free Palestine” as he was led away in handcuffs.
Elias Rodriguez’s actions have inspired international condemnation, with President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both denouncing it as an antisemitic act of terrorism.
