A Chicago man made his first court appearance Thursday to face murder charges and a possible death penalty in the shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, in what officials have called an antisemitic hate crime.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, appeared in Washington federal court before U.S. Magistrate Matthew Sharbaugh. He didn’t enter a plea in the case. The judge ordered him to remain in custody and set a preliminary hearing for June 18.
Rodriguez was charged with two counts of murder, murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person using a firearm and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison.
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