- 8 months ago
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro held a press briefing with Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and law enforcement officials to provide an update on the investigation and case against the suspect in the killing of 2 Israeli Embassy staff members.
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00:00All right, here we go. I'm Jeanine Pirro, the United States Attorney. Welcome.
00:15Our community today is reeling as a result of one person's actions.
00:21Two families now are left to grieve for dreams that will never be realized.
00:27And as I speak right now, there is an individual who is being presented in court and charged with various crimes.
00:3731-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois, is now charged by complaint after his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh with the following.
00:50Murder in the first degree for the murder of 30-year-old Yaron Lashinsky, a foreign official and official guest of the United States.
01:02Mr. Lashinsky was here on official business for the state of Israel.
01:06The defendant, Rodriguez, is also charged with two counts of murder in the first degree for both Yaron Lashinsky along with 26-year-old Sarah Lynn Milgram of Kansas.
01:22In addition, there are several felony firearms charges for discharging a firearm in the middle of a violent crime and for causing the death of an individual through the use of that firearm.
01:40Now, this investigation is continuing.
01:43And as you can see, we have most of the stakeholders here today who will be given an opportunity to speak with you.
01:49But what I want to be clear about today, since this is the first time you're hearing from me, is that this is a horrific crime.
01:59And these crimes are not going to be tolerated by me and by this office.
02:03A young couple at the beginning of their life's journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag.
02:19We are not going to tolerate that anymore.
02:22And I am not unaware, based upon my own background, of the repercussions of this kind of case.
02:30This is the kind of case that picks at old sores and old scars.
02:35Because these kinds of cases remind us of what has happened in the past that we can never and must never forget.
02:43I want to mention one thing.
02:47The Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where this young couple had been at an event, was built around a brick building.
02:58That brick building was previously a synagogue called Adas Israel.
03:05It was one of Washington's first synagogues, a congregation that was created in 1869.
03:15And Ulysses S. Grant, our president, actually attended the dedication of that synagogue.
03:24And so to this day, that synagogue and that area remains a cornerstone of the Jewish community in D.C.
03:31Let me also say that violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice.
03:39It is not an act of a hero.
03:42It is the kind of case that we will vigorously pursue.
03:47Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation's capital.
03:52Now, we're going to continue to investigate this as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism.
03:59And we will add additional charges as the evidence warrants.
04:04So this charging today is the initial charge.
04:08Remember, we're less than 24 hours from the crime itself.
04:12And we are working furiously and diligently with our partners behind me.
04:18We've got massive amounts of evidence that we are vetting, we are verifying, and we are reviewing.
04:24This is the start and not the beginning.
04:27And finally, let me say this.
04:30President Donald Trump appointed me to this position.
04:34This is the nation's capital.
04:35We should all be proud of this capital.
04:39And the president wants D.C. safe.
04:42And I and the partners behind me are going to do everything we can to make people proud of this city,
04:49whether they're from this city, from the country, or from other parts of the world.
04:56Now I'm going to call on Mayor Muriel Bowser.
05:02Good afternoon.
05:03I'm Muriel Bowser.
05:04I'm Mayor of Washington, D.C.
05:06I want to thank Judge Pirro for inviting us today.
05:11I'm joined by the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Pamela A. Smith.
05:16Metropolitan Police Department is the local D.C. police.
05:21We are here to echo what the U.S. attorney has said,
05:27that this crime will not be tolerated in our city.
05:32We're grateful for the partnership with our federal partners.
05:36MPD and the FBI have worked hand in hand on this investigation and will continue to do so.
05:45I also want to acknowledge our families in Washington, D.C., who are suffering and who are afraid and fearful for what this act has done to their sense of safety.
06:00But we know that feeling is represented around the globe.
06:06Earlier today, I convened a meeting with the mayor's Interfaith Council,
06:12where we spoke with leaders of congregations and Jewish institutions across D.C.,
06:18as well as D.C. council members and the attorney general for Washington, D.C.
06:23We heard our leaders reiterate messages of love and solidarity with the Jewish community.
06:31Sadly, we have had practice standing together as a community to fight anti-Semitism,
06:38both in hate speech and in hateful acts.
06:42And so in this moment, we stand shoulder to shoulder as one community united in love,
06:49but also committed to justice for this young couple.
06:53I also had the opportunity to speak with the Smalls family.
07:00And Sonny Smalls is well known in Washington, D.C.
07:04And his family has poured decades of time and love into making sure we have the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
07:14And one special aspect of that museum is that it celebrates local Jewish life.
07:22It focuses on D.C. Jews and how they have been a part of our culture and building on the city that we love.
07:33So once again, our city stands with our community,
07:38working with our institutions to make sure we have all the resources that we need to support them.
07:46And with that, Judge, I'll turn it over to Chief Smith.
07:53Good afternoon, everyone.
07:54I'm Chief Pamela Smith, the Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Department.
07:58Let me begin by reiterating my condolences to the family and friends of Yaron Lezinski and Sarah Milgram.
08:06I also want to thank Mayor Mira Bowser, Judge Pirro, and Director Jensen for their collaborative effort and support around this tragic incident.
08:18What I also will say is that everyone at the Metropolitan Police Department is holding the family in their thoughts and in their prayers.
08:25Our detectives have been working around the clock in close partnership with our federal partners.
08:31And this effort regarding this investigation has been a collaborative effort.
08:36All of the agencies involved in this investigation have been coordinating seamlessly overnight.
08:43Members of the Metropolitan Police Department's Office of Homeland Security Intelligence are working in partnership with the FBI to analyze the suspect's activity prior to the shooting.
08:53Around D.C., and I want to speak specifically to the community here in the District of Columbia.
08:58Around D.C., you will see an increased presence of law enforcement officers around the community.
09:05You will find us around our faith-based organizations.
09:08You will see an increased presence around our schools and places like the D.C. Jewish Community Center.
09:14We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish community.
09:18I also met, along with Mayor Bowser, with some of our faith leaders.
09:24I was moved by their desire to ensure that we keep our city safe and we keep our Jewish community members safe.
09:33And we are ready to support them in any way possible as we move forward.
09:38Most folks in this city know that I take the relationships that we have with our religious communities very seriously.
09:44I want to again express and remind the community that if you see something, say something, please let us know.
09:52Any information that you provide for us, we will utilize it in support of conducting this investigation.
09:58I will now turn it over to the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Steve Jensen.
10:04Thank you, Chief.
10:09As the Chief said, I'm Steve Jensen.
10:11I'm the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office for the FBI.
10:15And I'd like to start by reiterating what Director Patel pushed out publicly,
10:20that the tragic murder of these two Israeli embassy employees outside of the Capitol Jewish Museum last night
10:27was both an act of terror and directed violence against the Jewish community,
10:32and it has the full and unwavering attention of the FBI.
10:37The FBI Washington Field Office, JTTF, has been in lockstep with MPD.
10:43And with the assistance of FBI offices across the country,
10:47we're continuing to investigate and contact the subject's associates, his family members, and coworkers.
10:55We are also executing search warrants for his electronic devices,
11:01reviewing his social media accounts, and all of his internet postings.
11:06Regarding some internet postings,
11:08we are aware of some writings that are purported to have been authored by this subject.
11:14We're actively investigating to determine both the authorship
11:19and the attribution of these writings if they belong to this subject or not.
11:25I'd like to thank our partners in the U.S. Attorney's Office
11:28for bringing these significant federal charges in quick order
11:32within 24 hours or less than of the time of this incident.
11:37Make no mistake, this attack was targeted anti-Semitic violence,
11:42and it won't be tolerated.
11:45These significant charges are a step towards restoring justice for the victims and their families,
11:50but our work is not done.
11:53The FBI will continue to pursue all leads
11:56and use all available resources to investigate this attack.
12:00We join MPD in affirming that there is no ongoing threat to this community.
12:06And we're also seeking assistance from the public.
12:10We do have gaps in this investigation currently.
12:13We know the subject landed in the D.C. area on May 20th
12:17and that he was taken into custody on May 21st.
12:22We're asking the public, anybody who had contact with the subject,
12:26anybody who knew his whereabouts,
12:28or where he was located during that gap of time,
12:32to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI
12:35or to submit an online tip at tips.fbi.gov.
12:41And with that, I will turn it back over to Judge.
12:43Thank you very much.
12:45All right, we'll take a couple questions.
12:47Go ahead.
12:48Yes, we had spoken to a witness who said that this was a private event,
12:51that it wasn't publicized.
12:52So is there any idea how he actually knew about this
12:54and showed up at this specific event?
12:57You know, that's something that we're investigating right now.
12:59I think that, Chief, you'd agree with me on that.
13:02That's the kind of thing, do we know?
13:05That's still under investigation.
13:06Yeah, we're looking at that.
13:07There's a lot.
13:08Everybody understand.
13:09This is fluid.
13:10It's happening now.
13:11Go ahead.
13:13Madam U.S. Attorney, you mentioned terrorism.
13:15Can you speak to any possible nexus to terrorism?
13:18And Assistant Director Jensen,
13:19are you confident that this gunman acted alone?
13:23Is there any indication at this point that he was inspired?
13:27And then also curious if the Chief has any concerns about copycat attacks.
13:32Well, first of all, let me say that we're going to continue, as I said,
13:36to investigate this as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime.
13:40And as we do so, we will bring additional charges
13:44whenever those charges are warranted and provable.
13:47And I suspect as we go forward, before we get to the grand jury itself,
13:51that there will be more charges added.
13:54Yes, sir?
13:54Has there been any indication from the investigation so far
13:59that the subject was on the radar for the FBI
14:02or some other investigative agency around the country?
14:07Was he involved in any activism that might have put him on the radar?
14:10And also, if you would also, on the issue of whether there were anybody else connected to him,
14:17obviously those writings were posted and the timing of that.
14:21We're wondering whether you've indicated,
14:23you've seen any indication that someone connected to him
14:26might have been associated with posting those?
14:29So, a lot of questions.
14:30Let me try and break it down.
14:32Chief, I think you addressed some of this yesterday
14:34when we first initially briefed the public on this matter.
14:38There was nothing in criminal records or in our holdings
14:42that indicated that this person was previously known to us
14:46or would have popped on our radar or MPD's radar.
14:49We know that he originated outside of the district,
14:51came in for a conference on May 20th,
14:54and was a resident in the Chicagoland area.
14:57That's what we know about him currently.
14:59As far as associates, relatives,
15:01the reason we're checking associates and relatives
15:03is to put all the pieces together.
15:05There's a lot of unknowns.
15:07So, known contacts, known relatives, known associates,
15:10these are basic investigative steps
15:12to put a composite picture together of who the subject is,
15:16what did people know about him,
15:17and who was he closest to.
15:19From that, we'll build out the investigation.
15:22Aside from that, I couldn't answer more.
15:24Go ahead.
15:25Hi.
15:25I have a quick question.
15:26I'm sorry, Keith Alexander, Washington Post.
15:27Were you seeking the death penalty?
15:29Can you talk a little bit about that?
15:31And also, the night of May 20th,
15:33any idea of where he stayed at all?
15:36I think that we have an idea of that,
15:39but let me just say that, you know,
15:43the President and the Attorney General have both indicated
15:46that, you know, in cases where the death penalty
15:50is warranted and seems appropriate,
15:55we will use it.
15:55It's far too early to say whether that is the case,
15:58but this is a death penalty-eligible case.
16:03And we don't have the night of May 20th.
16:05Do you want to talk about that, Chief?
16:07No, I think it's still a part of the investigation.
16:09Definitely still a part of the investigation.
16:11I don't want to get into the weeds.
16:12I think that right now he's been arraigned,
16:15he's been presented.
16:16Excuse me.
16:17It's in progress.
16:20It's in progress.
16:20Okay.
16:21Yes, sir.
16:22Can you just, Mr. Jensen,
16:23can you just clarify one thing you said?
16:25You said he was in town for a conference.
16:26Was that a different conference than the one,
16:29than the event?
16:30And can you tell us more about what that particular event is?
16:33So we're still looking into the nature of the conference,
16:36we believe associated with his work,
16:38and we are contacting his employer
16:39and trying to figure out what the nature of his job was.
16:42We believe the reason for his flight
16:44was related to a conference for his work.
16:46What's the nature of that work?
16:47I don't have it at the top of my head.
16:49And then the other question is,
16:51he seems to have been sort of stalking,
16:54I forgot what the word was,
16:56pacing in front of this event,
16:58and he seems to have had pretty easy egress
17:01in and out of the place.
17:02What does that say about the level of security,
17:05and are you investigating that for,
17:07and Mayor Bowser,
17:09are you considering increasing security
17:11around these sorts of events and institutions?
17:13So regarding the movements of the subject,
17:16obviously still very much a part of the investigation.
17:18Compositive collected videos,
17:20witness statements to put a full picture together
17:22before I would comment on any one particular act
17:25that he may or may not have been observed doing.
17:28As far as security goes for a private entity,
17:30I wouldn't comment on that.
17:32And as far as posture goes,
17:33I would defer to the mayor.
17:37I think that the director is correct.
17:41This was not an event that falls into our special events category,
17:47where NPD and other government agencies have a stood-up posture.
17:52This was a relatively small event at a museum,
17:55so NPD or the government agencies wouldn't stand up additional resources
18:03unless they were requested or unless we got a call for service.
18:07More than that, I will say that we have had a local program and a federal program
18:14that have helped institutions, faith institutions,
18:17and others who have been concerned about violence,
18:22anti-Semitism, or other hateful speech and rhetoric.
18:27And very recently, we have issued grants and we have issued grants over the last several years
18:35to those institutions to harden their security, add cameras, add additional security.
18:41And I believe that the museum has done some of those things.
18:46All right, I just want to follow up with this.
18:53We've been advised that the defendant has appeared in court.
18:59He's had an attorney appointed.
19:01He's been advised by the judge that he could be punished by death or by life.
19:05And, of course, we saw detention.
19:09The defendant waived his right to a detention hearing and concedes to detention.
19:14And right now, a preliminary hearing is set for June 18th at 1 o'clock.
19:19So it is done.
19:20One clarification, Mr. Denson.
19:22You are not ruling out that this manifesto might have been written by this gentleman, right?
19:25We don't know.
19:26We don't know.
19:27And that's still very much a part of the investigation.
19:29Okay.
19:30Good.
19:31All right.
19:32Thank you all.
19:33Yes, sir.
19:33One more.
19:34Yes.
19:34Were any MPD officers working details at this event last night, perhaps off duty?
19:40And then a follow-up to that, when you say, the FBI said a targeted event,
19:43do you believe the victims were targeted or simply the event was targeted?
19:48So let me answer your first question, Mark.
19:50MPD was not assigned to that event.
19:54As you know, you've heard me say on last night,
19:58there were security officers assigned to the event, but not Metropolitan Police Department members.
20:03On or off duty?
20:03On or off duty.
20:04On or off duty.
20:04And then the targeting, was that the event that was targeted?
20:08Are these two individuals specifically targeted?
20:11We're not saying at this time.
20:12Yes.
20:13Chief, one question that people are interested in is that it was announced and fairly well-known
20:20that the Jewish Museum, a short time ago, opened a major LGBT exhibition, and we were wondering
20:30if the investigation is looking into whether the suspect might have known something about
20:36that or not.
20:37Sir, we are looking into absolutely everything.
20:40There is so much information we are looking at, and I must tell you, coming from New York,
20:45I've never seen the cooperation and the collaboration that I'm seeing here.
20:49It was immediate.
20:50It was instant.
20:51It was coordinated.
20:52And my hat's off to this area.
20:54And we're going to clean it up.
20:57Is that you?
20:58No.
20:58Thank you all.
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