The father of the man accused of killing two people at the Israeli embassy was a guest at President Trump’s joint address to Congress in March.
Eric Rodriguez, a U.S. veteran and union advocate, was invited by Democratic Rep. Jesús Garcia of Illinois. Garcia confirmed the invite but said he didn’t know about Rodriguez’s family.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” Garcia told the New York Post.
Back in March, Garcia praised Rodriguez as “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.” He said Rodriguez “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.”
That same man’s son, Elias Rodriguez, is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.
On Thursday, Garcia spoke out against the crime, calling it a “horrible, senseless act of antisemitism.”
Authorities are now digging into a manifesto posted online just before the attack, signed with Elias Rodriguez’s name. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said agents are “aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect” and are working to confirm if they’re real.
The online post, titled “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home,” blames Israel for the deaths of Palestinians and appears to justify violence.
“In the wake of an act people look for a text to fix its meaning so here’s an attempt,” it begins. It goes on to say, “The atrocities committed by Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification.”
Law enforcement is treating the shooting as a potential hate crime and an act of terrorism.
