The Justice Department has charged the alleged shooter in last night’s Washington terrorist attack with offenses that, once they are indicted, would be death-penalty eligible.
Elias Rodriguez was charged in a criminal complaint with the federal crimes of murdering foreign officials (Section 1116 of the federal penal code; see also penalty provision in Section 1111) and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm (Section 924(j)), both of which carry a potential sentence of death. The criminal complaint, sworn to by an FBI agent and filed by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, also alleges that Rodriguez discharged a firearm during a crime of violence (Section 924(c)(1)(A)(III)), which carries a penalty of ten years for each offense consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, and first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years under Washington, D.C.’s penal code (Section 22-2101; see also penalty provision in Section 22-2104).
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