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Justice Department urged to seek death penalty in Capital Jewish Museum murders

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Justice Department urged to seek death penalty in Capital Jewish Museum murders


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The Justice Department should pursue the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez for the first-degree premeditated executions of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky on May 21st outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C.

This is a sober decision to make, but not a difficult one. It’s exactly the kind of case where the death penalty is warranted.

Before getting into why the accused richly deserves the ultimate punishment, let me state clearly that Rodriguez is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

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SHOOTING AT CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS RISING WAVE OF ANTI-JEWISH HATE CRIMES

First, according to the Criminal Complaint filed against the accused, he murdered foreign officials and committed first-degree murder. Criminal complaints are placeholders and are the first step in a process that leads to a formal indictment, which is imminent.

No doubt, as additional evidence is gathered, more charges will be added, some may be altered, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (where I used to work as a prosecutor) will seek an indictment of the accused. A grand jury, which meets in secret, only needs to find probable cause to believe that the accused committed the crimes listed in the indictment.

Elias Rodriguez, the 31-year-old suspect accused of shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers on Wednesday, May 21, in Washington D.C. (Instagram/@shinewithIsrael)

That is a forgone conclusion; he will be indicted in the coming days.

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Second, this isn’t a whodunnit. Not only are there eyewitnesses to the crimes, but there is video surveillance. On top of that, once the forensic evidence is tested, the accused’s DNA, fingerprints, and other inculpatory evidence tied to the accused will be developed and available for trial.

Any one of those pieces of evidence, both direct and circumstantial, could be sufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

But there’s more: the accused told the officers at the scene that he “did it,” and blurted out “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”

Third, this wasn’t a heat of passion or spontaneous act by the accused. Not only did he fly from Chicago to D.C. with a 9mm handgun (in his checked luggage), he purchased a ticket to the Museum event three hours before it started, walked behind the two victims as they exited, and shot them numerous times. As Sarah tried to crawl away, the accused shot her again. Sarah sat up for a moment. The accused reloaded and fired several shots into her body.

A sketch from the preliminary hearing/arraignment for Elias Rodriguez, man accused of shooting two Israeli staffers. (Dana Verkouteren)

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Video surveillance captured this horrible scene.

Fourth, law enforcement officers recovered 21 expended 9mm cartridges from the scene, a 9mm magazine, and a 9mm handgun with its slide locked, indicating that it had expended all of its ammunition. The handgun was registered to the accused in Illinois, where he purchased the weapon in 2020.

The federal death penalty is authorized for several crimes, including first-degree murder. The Trump administration wisely reinstated the use of the federal death penalty for appropriate cases, and Attorney General Pam Bondi issued revised guidance with respect to the process by which federal prosecutors may seek the death penalty.

Although there are 93 United States Attorney’s Offices spread around the country, if any office wants to seek the death penalty, they must request to do so by submitting their justification memo to the Capital Case Section of Main Justice in Washington D.C. The process requires a pre-indictment review, consultation with the victim’s family, and a thorough review by the Capital Review Committee, composed of seasoned prosecutors.

Since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, there have been 1,625 executions, most of which took place at the state level. Today, 27 states have the death penalty. There are only three federal death row prisoners awaiting execution as of today (there were 40, but President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 vicious killers just before leaving office). Fifty-five percent of those executed have been white, 34% have been black, and 8% have been Hispanic.

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Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot and killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, pose for a picture at an unknown location, in this handout image released by Embassy of Israel to the U.S. on May 22, 2025.  (Embassy of Israel to the USA via X/Handout via REUTERS)

Death penalty trials have two phases: the guilt phase and the sentencing phase. If an accused is found guilty of a death-eligible offense by a jury, then the case proceeds to the sentencing phase.

In federal death penalty cases, the government must prove that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors. Aggravating factors for homicide include death during the commission of another crime, a previous conviction of a violent felony involving a firearm, previous conviction of other serious offenses, or a heinous, cruel, or depraved manner of committing an offense.

Mitigating factors include impaired capacity, duress, no prior criminal record, and others.

Given the fact that the accused hunted down and executed two helpless victims, shot them in the back, shot them when they were on the ground, shot Sarah as she tried to crawl away, reloaded, and shot Sarah again, the government will likely proceed on the theory that the accused’s actions were heinous, cruel, and depraved, and argue that those factors far outweigh any mitigating factors.

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In the 1996 fictional movie “A Time to Kill,” set in the deep south, a 10-year-old African American girl named Tonya was abducted, raped, and beaten by two redneck white men, who, after throwing full beer cans at her and unsuccessfully trying to hang her, threw her off a bridge into a river. Tonya survived. The men were arrested. But before they were tried, Tonya’s father, Carl Lee Hailey, shot and killed them in the courthouse, fearing that an all-white southern jury would acquit the monsters. Carl Lee went on trial for their murder, and was represented by Jake Brigance, played by Matthew McConaughey.

During his closing argument to the jury, Jake asked the jury to close their eyes as he described the brutal rape of Tonya.

“This is the story about a little girl walking home from a grocery store one sunny afternoon…suddenly a truck races up, two men jump out and grab her, they drag her into a nearby field, and they tie her up, they rip her clothes from her body, now they climb on, first one then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure, vicious thrusts, in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. When they are done, after they killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance of her to bear children, to have life beyond her own, they sat and used her for target practice.”

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As he describes the hanging and then how they threw her over the bridge to the creek bottom 30 feet below, he asks the jury, “Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body, soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl.”

After a long pause, he says, “Now imagine she’s white.”

With that in mind, try this thought experiment: imagine Sarah and Yaron were black, and the accused was a white supremacist who shot them coming out of a function at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. After he was apprehended by the police, he said “I did it for the KKK, I did it for the Confederacy.”

Sarah and Yaron deserve justice. Justice, in this case, is the ultimate punishment.

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The Church of Jesus Christ has announced its 384th temple

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The Church of Jesus Christ has announced its 384th temple


The state of Washington is getting a seventh temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Marysville Washington Temple was announced Sunday night during a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy in the church’s United States West Area Presidency.

“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency said in a statement. “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”

The other temples in Washington are the Columbia River, Moses Lake, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver temples.

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The church has 214 temples in operation. Plans for another 170 temples have been announced; many of those temples are in various stages of planning and construction.

Sunday’s temple announcement follows the new practice of the church’s First Presidency, which determines where temples will be built — and when and how they will be announced.

The First Presidency directed a General Authority Seventy to announce the first temple in Maine at a fireside there in December.

In January, church President Dallin H. Oaks said the Maine announcement set the pattern for future temple announcements.

“The best place to announce a temple is in that temple district,” he told the Deseret News.

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The First Presidency will continue to decide where future temples will be built. It then will “assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built,” he said.

This pattern came to him as a strong impression after he assumed leadership of the church in October, following the death of his friend, President Russell M. Nelson.

This came as a strong impression to him shortly after he assumed the leadership of the church, President Oaks said.

The church remains in the midst of an aggressive temple-building era. President Nelson announced 200 new temples from 2018 to 2025. All but one were announced at general conference.

Five dozen temples are now under construction.

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President Oaks now has overseen the announcement of two temples, neither at a general conference.

At the October conference he said that “with the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”

Ten new temples are scheduled to be dedicated in the next six months.

  • May 3: Davao Philippines Temple.
  • May 3: Lindon Utah Temple.
  • May 31: Bacolod Philippines Temple.
  • June 7: Yorba Linda California Temple.
  • June 7: Willamette Valley Oregon Temple.
  • Aug. 16: Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple.
  • Aug. 16: Cleveland Ohio Temple.
  • Aug. 30: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple.
  • Oct. 11: Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.
  • Oct. 18: Managua Nicaragua Temple.

Two-thirds of the 170 temples still to be built are outside the United States.

Temples are distinct from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ each Sunday. Temples are closed on Sundays, but they open during the week as sanctuaries where church members go to find peace, make covenants with God and perform proxy ordinances for deceased relatives.



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Washington football displays depth, talent at first spring scrimmage

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Washington football displays depth, talent at first spring scrimmage


On a perfect day in Seattle for football, Washington took the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice, and ahead of his third season at the helm, Jedd Fisch seemed pleased with the results.

“Guys played and competed their ass off,” he said after the Huskies ran 120 plays. “That’s the type of day we want to have…We have a lot to work on, but we’re excited that today gave us this opportunity.”

The 120 plays had a little bit of everything, but the biggest thing the Huskies showed during the day was that, despite the inexperience that Fisch’s coaching staff is looking to lean on at several positions, there’s plenty of talent littering the roster. The best example of that is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who had his best practice in a Husky uniform after Fisch announced on Saturday that senior CJ Christian is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

“Paul’s done a great job of competing and being physical and playing fast, and you could see over these three years, he’s really grown into understanding now the system, and what’s asked of him as a safety,” Fisch said. “I think there’s a lot of in him that he wants to be like (safeties coach Taylor) Mays. He sees himself as a tall, linear, big hitter. So when you have your coach that is known for that type of play, I think Paul has done a great job.”

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Mencke was all over the field. Not only did he lay some big hits, just like his safeties coach did during his time at USC, but the former four-star recruit also tallied a pair of pass breakups, an interception in a 7-on-7 period, and multiple strong tackles to hold ball carriers to limited yards.

While the defense did a good job getting pressure throughout the day and making the quarterbacks hold the ball with different looks on the back end, with safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Donovan Robinson, and edge rusher Logan George all among the players credited for a sack, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. got an opportunity to show off how he’s improved ahead of his junior year.

Early on, he showed off his well-known speed and athleticism, making the correct decision on a read option, pulling the ball and scampering for a 25-yard gain before displaying his touch. Throughout the day, his favorite target was junior receiver Rashid Williams, whom he found on several layered throws of 15-plus yards in the various scrimmage periods of practice.

On a day when every able-bodied member of the team was able to get several reps of live action, here are some of the other noteworthy plays from the day.

Spring practice notebook

  • Freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was unable to participate in the scrimmage and was spotted working off to the side with the rest of the players rehabbing their injuries.
  • The running backs delivered a pair of big blows on the day. First, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley was on the receiving end of a big hit from redshirt freshman Quaid Carr before the former three-star recruit ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. Later on, every player on offense had a lot of fun cheering on freshman Ansu Sanoe after he leveled Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, letting the sophomore linebacker hear all about it when the play was whistled dead.
  • Sophomore wide receiver Justice Williams put together a strong day with several contested catches, showing off his strong hands and 6-foot-4 frame, including a 25-yard catch and run off a drag route from backup quarterback Elijah Brown.
  • Of all the tackles for a loss the Huskies were able to rack up throughout the day, two stood out. First, junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis burst through the middle of the line to wrap up freshman running back Brian Bonner. Later on, freshman outside linebacker Ramzak Fruean wasn’t even touched as he shot through a gap in the offensive line to track down a play from behind, letting the entire offensive sideline know about the play on his way back to his own bench.
  • The Huskies experimented with several defensive line combinations on Saturday, and for the first time this spring, it felt like freshman Derek Colman-Brusa took the majority of his reps alongside someone other than Davis, who he said has taken on an older brother role to help mentor the top-ranked in-state prospect in the 2026 class.

“Elinneus is a phenomenal guy. Great work ethic. He’s kind of taken on that older brother mentor for me. He’s been a great help just to learn plays and learn the scheme. Can’t say enough good things about the guy.”

  • Ball State transfer Darin Conley took a handful of reps with the first team, while rotating with Colman-Brusa, who got a lot of work in alongside Sacramento State transfer DeSean Watts.



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Sioux Falls art teachers show ‘incredible’ work at Washington Pavilion

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Sioux Falls art teachers show ‘incredible’ work at Washington Pavilion


Twenty Sioux Falls School District art teachers have their own original pieces on display at the Washington Pavilion’s University Gallery now through May 31.

The “Teachers as Artists” exhibit showcases their work not just as educators, but as artists inside and outside of the classroom, and highlights how art education builds critical thinking, creative problem-solving and self-expression skills.

Edison Middle School art teacher Meagan Turbak-Fogarty said she dreamt of such a showcase since her first year teaching.

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She and Kathy Dang, an art teacher at Marcella LeBeau Elementary School who also serves on the city’s Visual Arts Committee, partnered with the city and Washington Pavilion to bring the showcase to life.

Turbak-Fogarty has taught at Edison for five years and said her passion for art is “instantly felt” on her classroom walls, but that students have asked where they could see her art in the classroom, or what kind of art she creates in her own time.

“I always felt the feeling that I stand in front of all these kids every single day and preach about how much I love art, and how art has changed my life,” Turbak-Fogarty said. “That got me thinking, ‘I want to show them.’”

Some of her works on display at the Pavilion include art she created in her first year teaching, including a large Cheetos bag she created as an example for her eighth grade classroom when they were working on a large chip bag project. Turbak-Fogarty said she loves painting, working with acrylics and unconventional materials.

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“I wanted to show my students that art can be anything,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be hanging up in a museum to be considered art.”

Continuing to do her own art while teaching the subject helps keep her inspired, Turbak-Fogarty explained, adding that it helps her push her own creativity when it comes to projects she works on with students.

Samantha Levisay, an art teacher at John Harris Elementary School, showed three pieces in the show — “Moments in Time,” “Midnight Butterfly Garden” and “Whimsy” — with the same mixed media, watercolor and printmaking skills that she teaches in different units at every elementary grade.

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Levisay educates her students that “art is everywhere.” She said her favorite memories as an art teacher are “moments when I show students a lesson, and they take it even further.”

“Kids are so creative; I marvel at them all the time,” she said. “They inspire me every day with their endless creativity and imagination.”

Roosevelt High School art teacher Ruth Hillman showed two pieces in the show: “The Potato on the Wall,” a mixed media work, and a collection of her handmade clay charms in a shadow box.

She also wore some of her art — miniature potato earrings made of clay.

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Hillman is in her third year at RHS. When she’s not teaching art, she’s also making art, and sells her charms at shows like the Art Collective.

Washington High School art teacher Mollie Potter displayed a three-part painting series at the show that she said were inspired by her English language learner students’ stories, and how teachers help students “take flight,” as represented by balloons, parachutes and kites in her work.

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Porter said she is often inspired by her students’ art in the classroom; for example, one former student was obsessed with swans, and Porter said she later created a painting inspired by one of the student’s stories about swans.

At an April 17 reception, Mayor Paul TenHaken emphasized the arts as an “important economic driver in the community,” and said the show honored educators “who are artists in and of themselves,” but who might not have had a chance to display their art outside the classroom before.

“This is a way for us to honor them and show their incredible work,” TenHaken said.

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