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A social media post believed to have been published by the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC accuses Israel of “atrocities” against Palestinians.

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, chanted “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested, footage shows.

The victims, who were attacked as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum, have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were about to be engaged.

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Elias Rodriguez has been named by police as the only suspect.
Pic: Katie Kalisher
Image:
Rodriguez shouted ‘free Palestine’ as he was arrested.
Pic: Katie Kalisher

Sky News has uncovered what is believed to be a statement by the shooting suspect posted at 10pm local time, around an hour after the shooting – suggesting it was scheduled.

The letter, signed with Rodriguez’s name, was dated 20 May 2025.

In the lengthy essay, Rodriguez criticises Israel’s actions in Gaza and attacks the US government’s position.

“The atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification,” it says.

“Instead of reading descriptions mostly we watch them unfold on video, sometimes live. After a few months of rapidly mounting death tolls Israel had obliterated the capacity to even continue counting the dead.”

Israel's embassy in the US has shared an image of the two victims of the Washington shooting, naming them as Yaron and Sarah.
@IsraelinUSA
Image:
Victims Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. Pic: @yaron_li/X

The statement adds: “Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they’ll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they’re doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.”

Rodriguez concludes the statement: “I love you Mom, Dad, baby sis, the rest of my familia, including you, O***** . Free Palestine.”

Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a UN report accusing Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against the Palestinians as biased and antisemitic.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence secretary Yoav Gallant – as well as a senior Hamas commander – for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu has decried what he said were the “false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body”.

Analysis: Trump team will worry about Washington attacker being glorified

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DC shooting: What we know so far

The attack

The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and began shooting, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

She said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting.

“After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Ms Smith said.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence.”

When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Police Chief Smith said.

Suspect believed to have been member of revolutionary socialist group

Rodriguez is believed to have been a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.

An article in the group’s Liberation paper about a protest outside the home of Chicago’s then mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2017 features a picture of Rodriguez at the demonstration as well as quotes from him. The protest was not linked to Israel or Gaza. The article was taken down from the paper’s website on Thursday.

Since 2024, Rodriguez has worked as an administrative specialist for the American Osteopathic Association, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Elias Rodriguez
Image:
The picture on Rodriguez’s LinkedIn

Before that he was an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, an online archive developed by Carnegie Mellon University to tell the stories of African Americans.

A profile for Rodriguez on the website says he was born and raised in Chicago and has a BA degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago.

“He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places,” the profile says.

Rodriguez is also believed to have donated $500 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in March 2020, when he was running in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group stormed across the border on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people, taking 250 hostages.

Since then Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 53,000 people, mostly children, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.

The war has displaced 90% of Gaza’s population of roughly two million people and left much of the territory in ruins.

Reporting by Samuel Osborne, news reporter, and Sam Doak, OSINT producer

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff – while warning of blanket hike for other countries

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff - while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Donald Trump has said he plans to hit Canada with a 35% tariff on imported goods, as he warned of a blanket 15 or 20% hike for most other countries.

In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the US president wrote: “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.”

Mr Trump’s tariffs were allegedly an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and the US president has expressed frustration with Canada’s trade deficit with the US.

In a statement Mr Carney said: “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”

He added: “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”

Mr Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries so far, including one putting a 50% tariff on Brazil in part for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after he lost the election in 2022.

Mr Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020.

The higher rates would go into effect on 1 August.

Shortly after Mr Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, there was a huge sell-off on the financial markets. The US president later announced a 90-day negotiating period, during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.

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But in an interview with Sky News’s partner network NBC News, Mr Trump said he plans to impose higher blanket tariffs on most US trade partners.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he said.

He added: “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today.”

The US and UK signed a trade deal in June, with the US president calling it “a fair deal for both” and saying it will “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

Read more:
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The US president also teased a “major statement” he will make on Russia over its war with Ukraine.

“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”

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It comes as Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington on bilateral problems could take place before the end of the summer.

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Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for $20m

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Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for m

A Palestinian activist who was detained for over three months in a US immigration jail after protesting against Israel is suing Donald Trump’s administration for $20m (£15m) in damages.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil have filed a claim against the administration alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his role in campus protests.

The 30-year-old graduate student at Columbia University told Sky News’s lead world presenter Yalda Hakim being detained by ICE agents in March “felt like kidnapping”.

He described “plain-clothed agents and unmarked cars” taking him “from one place to another, expecting you just to follow orders and shackled all the time”, which he said was “really scary”.

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Mahmoud Khalil reunites with family after release

Mr Khalil said he was not presented with an arrest warrant and wasn’t told where he was being taken.

He said the detention centre he was taken to was “as far from humane as it could be” and “a place where you have no rights whatsoever”.

“You share a dorm with over 70 men with no privacy, with lights on all the time, with really terrible food. You’re basically being dehumanised at every opportunity. It’s a black hole,” he added.

Mr Khalil said he would also accept an official apology from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration celebrated Mr Khalil’s arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it declared were “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

Mr Khalil said after around 36 hours in captivity he was allowed to speak to his wife, who was pregnant at the time.

“These were very scary hours, I did not know what was happening on the outside. I did not know that my wife was safe,” he said.

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‘Absolutely absurd allegations’

Mr Khalil said administration officials had made “absolutely absurd allegations” by saying he as involved in antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas.

“They are weaponising antisemitism, weaponising anti-terrorism in order to stifle speech,” he said. “What I was engaged in is simply opposing a genocide, opposing war crimes, opposing Columbia University’s complicity in the war on Gaza.”

A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Mr Khalil were fully supported by the law.

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Asked about missing the birth of his son while he was in prison, Mr Khalil said: “I don’t think there’s any word that can describe the agony and the sadness that I went through, to be deprived from such a divine moment, from a moment that my wife and I had always dreamed about.”

Meanwhile, the deportation case against Mr Khalil is continuing to wind its way through the immigration court system.

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

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Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

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