Once upon a time, you had to wander into the fringe corners of the internet or stumble into a dimly lit college coffeehouse to hear people cheer on terrorism. But not anymore. These days, radicalism has a front-row seat in America’s political theater, and some folks are not just clapping—they’re handing out awards.
Last week’s heinous murder of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington, D.C.—Sara Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, a young couple—should’ve united the nation in grief and outrage. Instead, some factions on the far left saw an opportunity for celebration. The alleged shooter, Elias Rodriguez, reportedly shouted “free, free Palestine” as he was apprehended, but instead of unanimous condemnation, the so-called “Liberation Caucus” within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) jumped at the chance to brand this terrorist a “political prisoner.” That’s right—cold-blooded murder, in their eyes, is just a bold act of resistance.
It gets worse. The Liberation Caucus is a self-described Marxist-Leninist-Maoist wing of the DSA, proudly aligning itself with ideologies responsible for the deaths of millions. Now they’ve taken the next logical step and started cheering on murder. In a statement, they proclaimed that “there must be consequences for genocidal zionist imperialism,” and praised Rodriguez’s actions as “righteous.” We’re not talking about some basement-dwelling message board here—this is a group openly associated with one of the most influential progressive organizations in America.
The campaign to “Free Elias Rodriguez” isn’t just one rogue caucus going rogue. It’s supported by over two dozen pro-Palestinian and Marxist groups, many with histories of terror ties, such as Samidoun—a group banned in both the U.S. and Canada for its connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Other supporters fly Hamas flags at rallies. These are not “peace activists.” They’re ideological cheerleaders for terrorism operating under the banner of social justice.
And where is the broader left in all this? The national DSA released a feeble statement against “vigilante violence,” but fell embarrassingly short of outright condemning the groups in its own ranks. Meanwhile, Representative Ritchie Torres had the backbone to call it like it is: “The DSA has publicly endorsed the barbaric murder of a young Jewish and Israeli couple.” At least someone’s paying attention.
Let’s not forget: the DSA has elected officials in Congress—people with real influence over national policy. When ideologies that justify domestic terrorism start infecting the mainstream, we’re not just talking about fringe politics anymore. We’re talking about a threat to national stability and civil society.
This isn’t resistance. It’s rot. And unless we start calling it what it is—violent, antisemitic, anti-American extremism—we’re going to see more blood on American streets. Radical leftism isn’t just a theory anymore. It’s putting targets on backs. And it’s long past time our leaders took it seriously.
