The father of the man accused of killing two Israeli embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum was invited to President Trump’s joint address in March by a Democrat lawmaker.
Eric Rodriguez, the father of Elias Rodriguez, was invited to attend the speech by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) admitted on Thursday night.
In March, Rep. Garcia hailed Eric 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.
“His presence at the Joint Address is a powerful statement: we will not sit back while veterans and workers are treated as political pawns.”
Eric Rodgriguez is apparently an Iraq war veteran and was working for the Veterans Affairs Deparmtent at the time of his invitation to attend the Trump speech.
On Thursday, his son Elias was charged in federal court with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as other charges, in the assassination of Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgram, 26, as they left the Capital Jewish Museum. Both were employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington.
The gunman fired two dozen rounds at the couple, and shouted “Free, free Palestine” as he was taken into custody.
On social media, Elias Rodriguez praised Luigi Mangione, who killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, and also posted “death to America” and “I voted for Hamas.”
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino wrote that the Bureau is in possession of “certain writings” that may have been written by the suspect.
“The FBI is aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect, and we hope to have updates as to the authenticity very soon,” he posted on X.