Sarah Milgrim's killer Elias Rodriguez was with Party for Socialism and Liberation till 2017, communist org condemns shooting

Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, was detained for the murder of two Israeli diplomats outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday night. The man who surrendered after reportedly gunning down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim shouted "Free free Palestine" as the security personnel approached to detain him.

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Unconfirmed reports said Elias Rodriguez was a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) -- a communist organisation in the US. The incident was proof that far-left and socialist groups are a threat to the society, many condemning the double-murder said on X.

 

Meanwhile, the PSL distanced itself from Rodriguez declaring on X that the shooter was not their member. After a brief association, Rodriguez left their ranks about seven years ago, the party claimed before condemning the incident.

 

 

"We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it," the post read. 

 

Here are five things to know about the communist-socialist organisation in the US that finds itself at the heart of the embassy shooting:

1. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist political party in the United States that many categorise as a far-left organisation. PSL, which is based on Marxist–Leninist principles, was formed in 2004 following a split in the Workers World Party. The founders of PSL believed the parent organisation was no longer in a position to build socialism in the US and walked out to form the new organisation. Eugene Puryear, Richard Becker, Brian Becker and Gloria La Riva were named its founding members.

 

 

2. PSL identifies the United States as the center of world capitalism and imperialism. The party program claims the primary objective of the party is to carry out the struggle for socialism inside US. "While a tiny part of the population grows ever richer, tens of millions of workers here in the United States and billions of workers around the world sink deeper into poverty. Monumental advances in science and technology, which could have uplifted the many, instead have mainly enriched the few. The great wealth of society is the product of both natural resources and the labor of working people. Yet, that wealth is increasingly the private property of those who produce nothing of value — the tiny class of capitalist owners," it states.

 

3. The party's website claims to have branches in 37 US States as of today. They claim to have most branches in California (six), followed by New York (five) and Pennsylvania (four).

 

4. An openly pro-Palestine outfit, the PSL took out a rally in  Times Square after news of the October 8 attacks broke. They supported the Hamas offensive, declaring it an act of resistance. According to the party, "The imperialist occupations of oppressed nations around the world mirror the reality for oppressed communities within the United States. The past century has shown that imperialism is simultaneously at its most dangerous and most vulnerable when at war. For socialists in the imperialist countries, opposition to imperialist war and support for the right of self-determination of countries targeted by one’s “own” ruling class must be a top priority."

 

5. The PSL supported Russia annexation of Crimea and is favour of North Korea's nuclear programme. It considers Kim Jon Un's Workers Party of Korea an ally. 

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