In March, a Democratic congressman hailed the father of the accused killer of two Israeli embassy workers as the “very best of our community.”
Elias Rodriguez allegedly gunned down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim near the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday.
The office of Democratic Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois confirmed that Eric Rodriguez, the father of Elias Rodriguez, was recently honored by the lawmaker, according to the New York Post.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” a representative for Garcia said.
In March, when Rodriguez got a coveted seat at President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress, Garcia called Rodriguez “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.”
“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,” Garcia said at the time.
“His presence at the Joint Address is a powerful statement: we will not sit back while veterans and workers are treated as political pawns,” Garcia added.
Eric Rodriguez appeared in a video at the time and trashed Trump, according to Fox News.
“The reason why I am in Washington, D.C., is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system,” Rodriguez said.
Have leftists irresponsibly stirred up extremism?
“They’re indiscriminately cutting people’s jobs, they’re cutting funding and people rely on these funds. People rely on these services.”
Elias Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Lischinsky and Milgrim, who were shot after they left the museum.
When the young Jewish couple, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, were shot at by leftist extremist Elias Rodriguez who by his own admission was radicalized online, they didn’t die immediately. Sarah survived the initial shots and tried to crawl to safety.
The communist walked… pic.twitter.com/mtRXzq5hyk
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 23, 2025
An unsealed FBI affidavit said video footage showed Lischinsky and Milgrim being approached from behind before the suspect opened fire.
Even after the two victims fell to the ground, the suspect continued to shoot.
“I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed,” he yelled as he was detained, later calling out, “Free Palestine.”
In his New York Post column, Douglas Murray connected the deed of Elias Rodriguez with extreme leftist rhetoric.
“Presumably Rodriguez believed the lies that have been pumped around this country and the world,” he wrote.
“Presumably he was one of those people who actually believe that Israel has been committing a ‘genocide’ in Gaza since October 2023, as opposed to fighting a careful war intended to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas and capturing or killing the terrorist group’s leadership. If he did believe these things then he is not alone,” he continued.
“Rodriguez does not appear to be a radical Muslim. He is someone who has been radicalized in America by radical left groups that believe that killing Jews makes them ethical people,” Murray wrote.
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