From the office of HSPRD Ltd.
Originally communicated May 27, 2025
Below is the content from the original cease and desist letter.

Dear Alderman Lopez:

Our law firm represents Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez. I write to address the series of false statements that you have made to the media and on social media related to the horrific, heartbreaking murders of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. Your decision to exploit this tragedy for political gain by falsely targeting Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez has caused direct harm, including endangering her and her staff’s safety. It also constitutes defamation in violation of Illinois law.

Immediately following the identification of the alleged shooter as Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, you made successive posts on X falsely insinuating connections between him and Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez and other Chicago progressive politicians, and implying they condone the violence committed. Two of these posts included a photo of a 2018 United Working Families event, annotated to wrongly indicate that a former staffer of the Alderwoman, Chris Poulos, was Elias Rodriguez. Other accounts picked up your photo post, widely circulating it and garnering thousands of views. On May 22, 2025, counsel for United Working Families and Mr. Poulos sent a formal cease and desist letter. The letter clearly notified you of the falsity of your statements and the harm they were causing, advised you that your statements constituted defamation, and demanded that you take down the dangerous post.

Your statements also have been repeatedly debunked by a host of sources:

• The Chicago Tribune verified that the claims the alleged shooter had ties to Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez (and others) were “false and misleading,” including in social media posts “incorrectly purporting to show [him] alongside” the Alderwoman and others in the photo.
• Block Club Chicago reported that you “falsely” tried to link the shooter to the Alderwoman and others, “incorrectly” identified Mr. Poulos as the alleged shooter, and “misidentified” him.
• Politico published that you “misidentified” the individual in the photo as the shooter.
• Mr. Poulos has also verified repeatedly that the photo is of him, not the alleged shooter.

Nevertheless, you have doubled down on the statements—despite their clear falsity and despite the direct and foreseeable harm they are causing. After receiving the cease and desist letter, on May 23, 2025 you posted on X: “Happy Friday Chicago – let’s make it a great one, unless you stand with radicalized terrorists and the politicians that enable, uplift and defend them.” and “‘2 + 2 = 4’ is not something needing an apology.”

You also went on Chicago’s Morning Answer, making the brazen false statement on live radio that Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez and her former staffer lied about his identity:

“There's some back & forth as to whether or not the individual was actually the terrorist or if that was just Rossana’s former campaign chairman slash chief of staff taking one for the team to say that it's not him and that they're not sitting with the terrorist–but what we do know is this: that this individual was a homegrown individual radicalized at UIC, supported by and involved with the alderman of the 33rd ward Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, which is why she's been so vocal for the first time in 6 years about something that's going on involving her ward. A murdering terrorist that's come out of her political think tank…”

Let us be clear: these statements are entirely false. Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez does not know Elias Rodriguez. She unequivocally condemns the horrific murders he is alleged to have committed. He has no known connection to the Alderwoman and has never been a member or volunteer of 33rd Ward Working Families. Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez has consistently advocated for peace and against hatred and violence. That messaging runs through her politics, her organizing, and her actions.

As a result of your statements falsely connecting Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez to the alleged shooter in a highly charge international event, she predictably has faced a deluge of hate mail and posts. Some of these communications have reasonably caused the Alderwoman to fear for the safety of herself and her staffers. Heightened public safety measures are being implemented to protect them and others from potential harm.

You have shamefully and carelessly continued to put a private citizen in harms way by misidentifying him as an alleged murderer. You have recklessly exploited the tragic murders of Ms. Millgram and Mr. Lischinsky by using them as a platform to repeat falsehoods about Ald. Rodrigez Sanchez, endangering her and her staff. As a public servant, your deliberate spread of misinformation is a violation of public trust and the responsibilities of your office.

It also constitutes defamation under Illinois law. Even a public figure faces liability for defamation when they make “statements [that] were false, were made with knowledge of their falsity, or were made in reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.” Krueger v. Lewis, 342 Ill. App. 3d 467, 472 (1st Dist. 2003). See also e.g. Tirio v. Dalton, 2019 IL App (2d) 181019 (holding statements of a political primary candidate defamed his opponent).

As Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez has repeatedly said, acts of violence undermine the cause of peace, and the critical related work of confronting hate and violence in all of its forms. Disseminating dangerous mistruths that stoke fear and division have the same effect, causing serious safety risks. We demand that you immediately take down the posts directly and falsely connecting Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez to the alleged shooter and immediately cease making similar false statements. If you fail to do so, we will take further action, including potential legal action, to protect the safety and integrity of Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez and her staff.