The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the organization backing mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, is facing a severe public condemnation just as the NYC mayoral polls come closer and the information that a radical faction within its ranks openly praised and launched a campaign to free Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of murdering two Israeli embassy staffers in a terror attack in Washington, D.C.
The Attack and the Attacker
On 21 May 2025, Elias Rodriguez, 31, allegedly approached a group of four people leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum and opened fire at close range, killing Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26. Upon his arrest, Rodriguez yelled, “Free, free Palestine!”
Federal investigators uncovered a letter, posted to social media around the time of the attack and linked to Rodriguez, which criticized Israeli actions in Gaza and called the killings an “armed action” and a form of protest. Rodriguez later told police he was inspired by the US airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in 2024, whom he called a “martyr.”
The “Free Elias Rodriguez” Campaign
A week after the murders, a coalition of 28 pro-Palestine and Marxist groups, operating under the banner “Unity of Fields,” announced the formation of a “Free Elias Rodriguez Organizing Committee.” Their campaign statement explicitly justified the killings, calling them “a legitimate act of resistance against the zionist state and its genocidal campaign in Gaza” and declaring that “such counter-violence is legitimate, it is justice.”
Among the co-signers of this campaign was the DSA Liberation Caucus, a self-identified Marxist-Leninist-Maoist faction within the Democratic Socialists of America. The caucus took to social media to glorify Rodriguez, posting a black-and-white sketch of him set against a Palestinian flag stamped with a hammer and sickle. The post proclaimed, “It is right to rebel against the enemy. This is Maoist law.”
It is right to rebel against the enemy. This is a Maoist law. pic.twitter.com/j8CoHKWOaU
— Liberation Caucus ⛓️💥 ☭ (@dsaliberation) May 27, 2025
The campaign statement urged supporters to mail letters to Rodriguez in jail, send monetary support, attend his court hearings, and “raise voices” in his defence.
Zohran Mamdani’s Democrat Socialists of America signed onto a statement calling to release Elias Rodriguez, the terrorist who executed two Jews in Washington DC last spring. pic.twitter.com/x5Vf9hwTbL
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) October 26, 2025
The DSA Liberation Caucus also celebrates October 7 as “Resistance Day”.
Mainstream DSA’s Fractured Response
The public lionization of a suspected terrorist by one of its own caucuses forced the national DSA to respond. The main body of the organization issued a public disavowal, stating, “Democratic Socialists of America seek to democratically transform our society and reject vigilante violence. We condemn the murder of Israeli embassy workers. Any statement otherwise is not the stance of DSA.”
However, this condemnation did not satisfy critics, who point to the ongoing support for Rodriguez from the entrenched DSA Liberation Caucus. In a direct challenge, Unity of Fields called on DSA mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who stated that he is a proud member of the DSA, to “commend the DSA Liberation Caucus for upholding Elias Rodriguez’s righteous action.”
A Pattern of Extremist Associations
The controversy extends beyond the DSA. Other groups supporting the “Free Elias” campaign have documented ties to terror organizations. Samidoun, a co-signer, was proscribed as a terrorist organization in the US and Canada in 2024 for acting as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Another signatory, the Bronx Anti-War Coalition, has previously displayed banners featuring the flags of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other designated terrorist groups at anti-Israel rallies.
Political Fallout for Mamdani
For Zohran Mamdani, the leading candidate in the New York City mayoral race, the incident presents a profound challenge. While he has denied being a communist amid GOP calls to investigate and revoke his citizenship, his political identity is inextricably linked to the DSA. The revelation that a significant caucus within his own political home is actively supporting a domestic terrorist accused of murdering diplomats places him in a precarious position, forcing him to navigate between the mainstream socialist platform of his campaign and the radical, violent fringe that operates within the same movement.
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