The gunman accused of shooting and killing two Israeli diplomats was linked to the communist Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Elias Rodriguez was arrested after allegedly killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C, on Wednesday night. He was seen on video chanting “Free, free Palestine!” after being detained.
The alleged killer was involved with the PSL, a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist group that advocates overthrowing capitalism and implementing socialism.
Rodriguez was featured in an Oct. 25, 2017, article for Liberation, the PSL’s newspaper, titled “Chicago Demands Justice for Laquan, Not Money for Amazon.” The article covers a PSL protest outside the residence of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel over the planned relocation of an Amazon headquarters to the city, and the death of Laquan McDonald.
“The wealth that Amazon has brought to Seattle has not been shared with its Black residents,” Rodriguez said at the time, trying to link the death of McDonald and the plans for the Amazon headquarters. “[Amazon’s] whitening of Seattle is structurally racist and a direct danger to all workers who live in that city. So do we in Chicago and all across the country want a nation of cities dominated and occupied by massive corporations where only the rich and white can live and the vast majority of us must live on the edges of the city and society living in deeper and deeper poverty?”
The page still appears on a Google search, but has been taken down. An archived version of the page is available on the Wayback Machine.
The PSL quickly tried to distance itself from Wednesday’s shooting, saying Rodriguez was not a member. However, its news outlet explicitly identified Rodriguez as a member, quoting him as “Elias Rodriguez from the Party for Socialism and Liberation.”
“We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it,” the party said in a post on X.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the PSL’s Chicago branch for comment.
In a manifesto obtained by a left-wing blogger, Rodriguez said Israel is a “genocidal apartheid state,” and suggested that nonviolent protests weren’t effective. He voiced admiration for airman Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated outside of the Israeli Embassy last year. He cited a man who attempted to throw former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara off a ferry in Martha’s Vineyard in 1972 as inspiration.
Rodriguez said his “armed demonstration” was justified, and voiced hope that the public would sympathize with him.
GUNMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING TWO ISRAELIS IN DC CHANTED ‘FREE PALESTINE’ WHILE IN POLICE CUSTODY
His alleged killings were roundly condemned by public officials. President Donald Trump expressed his sorrow and anger over the incident.
“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.