Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted "Free Palestine" as he was taken away by police after the shooting late Wednesday outside the Capital Jewish Museum, prosecutors said in a court document.
The Chicago man made an initial court appearance Thursday after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.
Authorities were investigating the shooting "as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime," Jeanine Pirro, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters.
"I suspect as we go forward... that there will be more charges added," she said, noting that a preliminary hearing was set for June 18.
The shooting triggered international outrage and finger-pointing as Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country's genocide in Gaza, which has killed nearly 54,000 Palestinians.
"This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe," he said, conflating anti-Semitism with opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza.
French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation "completely outrageous and completely unjustified."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked "the terrible price of anti-Semitism" and condemned "wild incitement against the State of Israel," while notably omitting any reference to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza that have isolated the country internationally.
Soon after the shooting, staunch Israel ally President Donald Trump — who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday — took to social media to condemn the attack as clearly anti-Semitic.
Supporters of Israel’s war on Gaza have often sought to silence pro-Palestinian voices by wrongly equating anti-Zionism and protests against Israeli genocide and apartheid with anti-Semitism.
The killings took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum, located a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, following a social event hosted by the American Jewish Committee for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.
Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple planning to marry.
The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Israel sentiment surges worldwide in the wake of Israel's devastating invasion of Gaza.
Tensions have surged across the United States and around the world as pro-Palestinian voices denounce the brutal and indiscriminate violence inflicted by Israel’s war on Gaza, highlighting the unbearable human cost of the ongoing genocide.
Britain and France -- who have stepped up their criticism of Israel's war on Gaza -- were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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