A Democratic congressman has been closely linked to the family of the pro-Hamas terrorist who gunned down a Jewish couple in Washington D.C. this week.
In February, members of Congress were invited to bring a guest to President Donald Trump’s speech, a solemn occasion that many use as a chance to grandstand by bringing constituents affected by the president’s latest executive action. That courtesy extended to the father of suspected gunman Elias Rodriguez who on Thursday was charged with murdering a soon-to-be engaged Jewish couple leaving a late-night function.
Rodriguez, a native of Chicago, lived in the district of Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) who said in a statement he never met the deranged young man and barely knew his family, despite inviting the his father, Eric Rodriguez, to sit with him at President Trump’s speech.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” the Democrat’s office said in a statement.
But in March, García was hailing the elder Rodriguez as “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,” the congressman said in a statement 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.”
While on Capitol Hill, Rodriguez also took part in a Service Employees International Union video opposing Trump’s agenda, saying he is an Iraq war veteran and an employee with the Veterans Affairs Department, according to the NY Post.
“I’ve been with the VA for three years, and the reason why I’m in Washington, DC, is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system,” Rodriguez said in a short clip.
On Thursday, Rodriguez’s son, Eric, was charged with the murder of Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who worked for the Israeli Embassy and had just left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.
The accused killer shot both victims at close range before running back into the museum and sitting down with other patrons who fled back inside in response to the sound of gunshots.
“He was sitting there and someone got him a glass of water,” Ran Goldstein, who spoke at the event on behalf of IsraAID, told the Washington Post. “He did not look like a suspect.”
Shortly afterward, Elias Rodriguez stood up and began to chant “free, free Palestine” before security placed him under arrest.
“I strongly condemn this horrible, senseless act of antisemitism. My heart is with the victims and everyone impacted by the attack,” García wrote on X earlier in the day.
Back near the Rodriguez home in Chicago, a worker at a nearby shop confirmed that the shooter’s father approached the clerk and asked for a translation of an Arabic-language news story about the shooting.
