Inside PSL: The Pro-Terror Group Connected to Suspect in Israeli Embassy Shooting
Elias Rodriguez, suspect in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers, is allegedly affiliated with PSL — a group known for expressing support for Hamas and praising the October 7th attacks
On the night of Wednesday, May 21, 2025, two Israeli embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed in Washington, D.C. while attending an event organized by the American Jewish Committee. The couple, reportedly soon to be engaged, were attacked by a gunman who shouted “Free Palestine!” as he was being arrested.
The suspect, identified by D.C. police as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago native, attempted to blend in as a bystander after the shooting, according to eyewitness reports. Rodriguez is alleged to be affiliated with the Chicago chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a political party known for hosting events and making social media posts that glorify U.S.-designated terror groups, their members, and the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.
In October 2017, Liberation News, the newspaper outlet for the PSL, referred to Rodriguez as “from the party of Socialism and Liberation.” Shortly after the attack, the article was taken offline, though archived versions remain available. The article included an image of Rodriguez attending a protest and holding a sign reading ANSWER Coalition, of which PSL has been described as one of the founding members.
The Shooter’s Alleged Manifesto
Journalist Ken Klippenstein released an alleged manifesto written by Elias Rodriguez that references “armed action” as “usually theater and spectacle” and writes, “Their sacrifices were not made in vain,” referring to individuals such as Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated and died during the early stages of the Hamas-Israel War in protest.
The manifesto references the Hamas-run Gaza Information Office, which produces propaganda on behalf of Hamas. It also references the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which is known for relying on false and misleading casualty figures to support its false narrative that Israel is committing genocide. Rodriguez closes by discussing the “morality of armed demonstration,” saying, “I think to most Americans such an action [his forthcoming attack] would have been illegible, would seem insane. I am glad that today at least there are many Americans for which the action will be highly legible and, in some funny way, the only sane thing to do.”
PSL’s History of Expressing Support for U.S.-Designated Terror Groups
On October 7, 2023, shortly following the start of the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people and taking of 251 others hostage into Gaza, the PSL Chicago chapter announced an event titled “The Palestinian Revolution, Then and Now.”
The Facebook post sharing the event stated, “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED! FREE PALESTINE!” The event included a public study of a text by Ghassan Kanafani, a former leader of the U.S.-designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). PSL frequently hosts events dedicated to studying the literature of the PFLP and Kanafani.
In March 2025, PSL Chicago hosted an event celebrating the “heroism” of Leila Khaled, a PFLP leader convicted for hijacking two civilian airplanes in 1969 and 1970. PSL members have displayed her banner at the 2020 Women’s March in Chicago and used her speeches to promote trivia nights.
Other PSL Chicago flyers include images glorifying U.S.-designated terror groups like the Houthis and photos of people holding flags of Hezbollah and its former leader Hassan Nasrallah. An event flyer from April 30 showed attendees holding posters featuring an AK-47, an image of an armed terrorist, and the caption “Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow.”
The national PSL chapter has shared flyers calling to “Exterminate Zionists.” Following the Hamas October 7 massacre, the national chapter posted calls to “stand” with the “Palestinian resistance.”
Further posts from the national PSL chapter label Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah as a “resistance leader” and refer to Hezbollah as a “Lebanese resistance group.” PSL’s Liberation News website has published articles praising Hezbollah, calling to free PFLP member Khalida Jarrar, supporting Hamas’s 2006 takeover of Gaza by framing them as a “resistance movement,” and condemning the assassination of former-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has highlighted numerous other PSL statements in support of Hamas and terrorism.
Violence in the West Fueled by Hamas Propaganda
This case, combined with PSL’s history of openly supporting U.S.-designated terror groups, highlights how Hamas propaganda can inspire dangerous violence among leftist activists and raises the possibility of a terror designation against the PSL. It highlights the importance of closely monitoring extremist influences within political groups to prevent potential threats.
If you are committing murders or supporting terrorists on behalf of the Palestinians — you will lose. You’re shouting at the wind. It is not bravery. To be courageous, stand up and denounce Hamas - the entity that PREVENTS Palestinians from coexisting with Israel and improving their lives: https://tinyurl.com/32ns2sfn