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Death Penalty Possible for Suspect
In Capital Jewish Museum Killings
Prosecutors are dropping hints they will seek the death penalty against the accused shooter charged with killing two people at the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21.
Elias Rodriguez pleaded not guilty last week in U.S. District Court to hate crime and murder charges.
The nine-count indictment says he shouted “Free Palestine” as he fired a handgun about 20 times at the victims, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26. Both of them worked at the Israeli Embassy.
The indictment refers to a federal death penalty statute when it says that Rodriguez killed Milgrim “in an especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner.” The death penalty is outlawed under D.C. law.
Milgrim was exiting the museum with her fiance when they were shot in a murder captured on surveillance video. Prosecutors say Milgrim tried to crawl away after being shot initially but Rodriguez followed after her, reloaded his gun and continued shooting her as she tried to sit up.
Afterward, he allegedly walked into the museum and displayed a traditional headdress worn by men in the Middle East called a kaffiyeh while saying, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
Prosecutors say they have evidence of social media posts in which Rodriguez blames Israel for “atrocities” in the Gaza Strip.
Rodriguez entered his not guilty plea at the hearing last week wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. He told Judge Randolph D. Moss he is satisfied with the three public defenders and a private attorney who represent him.
The last time prosecutors sought the death penalty for a crime in Washington, D.C., was in 2003 against two men accused of killing at least 19 people. A jury instead converted their sentences to life in prison.
The decision on whether to seek the death penalty for Rodrigues lies with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“This brutal, antisemitic violence has no place in our country or anywhere in civilization,” Bondi said in a statement after the shooting.
Judge Refuses to Require Google
To Divest from Chrome and Android
Google will be allowed to keep its Chrome browser and Android operating system for smartphones under a landmark federal court ruling last week.
The Justice Department had sued Google, claiming its dominance of the online search engine industry violated antitrust laws.
The Justice Department sought a court order that would have forced Google to sell Chrome and end its distribution contracts that made it the only search engine for Apple Inc. computers and other technology companies.
The ruling gave Google’s competitors a few concessions, such as requirements that Google share some of its competitive operating data and limit its exclusive dealing contracts with advertisers.
Google's stock rose to a record 230 on the Nasdaq stock exchange within a day after the ruling.
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Latest News
Supreme Court is Next Stop
For Dispute Over Trump’s Tariffs
A federal appeals court ruling late last month that struck down Trump administration tariffs has put the case on the fast track to the Supreme Court and is providing the biggest test yet of the president’s economic agenda.
The appellate court’s 7-to-4 ruling said President Donald Trump lacked constitutional authority to dramatically raise tariffs on foreign imports. The rates range from 10 percent to 50 percent, depending on the country.
The court said only Congress was authorized to raise the tariffs.
Trump tried to bypass Congress by declaring a national emergency that he said has put the U.S. economy in danger.
A declaration of national emergency gives the president extraordinary powers, which Trump said could include raising tariffs.
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
Join us! Donate & subscribe: https://www.washlaw.org/support-us
Volunteer with us: https://www.washlaw.org/get-involved/
For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at Gregg_Kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Magistrate Criticizes U.S. Attorney’s Office
For Prosecutions He Calls Unfounded
The brisk pace of arrests and prosecutions in Washington, D.C., under U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro drew a rebuke last week from a federal judge who said federal prosecutors have “no credibility left.”
Grand juries in at least five recent cases took the rare step of refusing to return felony indictments against criminal defendants.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said some cases prosecutors are pursuing should never be in federal court.
In one case, a man was arrested on a felony charge after he allegedly damaged a light fixture at a local bar and made rambling threats against the president. He was held in jail for nearly a week before charges were dropped.
Faruqui said the U.S. Attorney’s office was “playing cops and robbers like children.”
Pirro responded by saying Faruqui "has repeatedly indicated his allegiance to those who violate the law and carry illegal guns." He was a prosecutor before he became a judge.
Justice Department rules say U.S. attorneys should prosecute only if “the admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction."
In an order demanding an explanation from prosecutors, Faruqui wrote, "Given that there have been an unprecedented number of cases that the U.S. Attorney dismissed in the past ten days, all of whom were detained for some period of time, the Court is left to question if this principle still applies."
Bureau of Justice Statistics figures show that of the roughly 162,000 cases presented to federal grand juries since 2010, only 11 of them failed to return an indictment. The five or more cases in
Washington in the past weeks in which grand juries “no-billed” charges indicate an extraordinarily high number.
D.C. Sues Trump to Stop
National Guard Deployment
Washington, D.C., sued the Trump administration last week in an effort to stop the deployment of the National Guard to the city as part of a law enforcement surge.
The lawsuit accuses President Donald Trump of overreaching his constitutional authorities. It also says the deployment is hurting the city’s tourism industry.
Local opposition is growing.
Trump said the troops and sharp increase in arrests were necessary because of what he called a “public safety emergency.”
By declaring an emergency, the president can bypass constitutional limits on his authority to better manage crises.
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Legal Briefs
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org