Pro-Israel Protester Charged With Shooting a Man Attacking Him Tells the Sun DA Is ‘Playing Politics’ and Reneged on Plea Deal

Scott Hayes, who was charged in September for shooting a counter-protestor who attacked at him at a pro-Israel rally, is considering bringing his case to trial after the district attorney’s office suddenly reneged on a key clause of his deal, he tells the New York Sun. “The DA is just playing politics with this case, and at this point I’m leaning toward wanting a trial,” the 48-year-old Massachusetts man said. “We have all the evidence — witness statements, video footage of the incident. The evidence is overwhelmingly in my favor.” Mr. Hayes pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and maintains that he was acting in self defense when he shot 31-year-old Caleb Gannon in the stomach. The embattled pro-Israel demonstrator was let out on $5,000 bail that was raised by his friends and fellow pro-Israel supporters “in a matter of minutes,” he tells the Sun. After months of negotiating, Mr. Hayes and his lawyer came to an agreement with Middlesex County’s District Attorney, Marian Ryan, last week. Under the “pretrial probation” deal that both parties reportedly accepted, Mr. Hayes’s license to carry a weapon would be suspended and he would have to stay away from Mr. Gannon until the one-year anniversary of the incident. He would also be required to complete a de-escalation course. The last condition, he tells the Sun, hinges on an order to ban Mr. Hayes from entering Newton, Mr. Gannon’s place of residence, during the period. The DA reportedly agreed to allow Mr. Hayes to challenge the restriction in front of a judge. On Tuesday, however, the DA’s office notified his attorney that the stay-out-of-Newton order would be non-negotiable. “If I didn’t agree to that, we don’t have a deal,” Mr. Hayes says.Although Mr. Hayes doesn’t live in Newton himself, he says that the restriction would majorly impact his day-to-day activities. “All of my friends are in Newton,” he tells the Sun. Not to mention, he adds, that “you can’t go into Boston from where I live without going through Newton. So telling someone they can’t go into the entire city of Newton for six months is insane.” Mr. Hayes’ was initially required to wear a GPS monitor to ensure that he complied with the stay-out-of-Newton order. The condition was later reversed after the device mistakenly activated on several occasions while Mr. Hayes was traveling through Newton on the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128. The pro-Israel veteran suspects that the DA reneged on the stipulation out of fear of backlash from the Pro-Palestinian community. “After the office agreed to my offer, they asked for two weeks to notify people because they wanted to ‘soften the blow,’” he tells the Sun. “That’s not typical.” The DA’s office has not yet responded to the Sun’s request for comment. Videos of the incident show Mr. Gannon heckling the group of pro-Israel demonstrators before charging through traffic and tackling Mr. Hayes to the ground. Mr. Hayes, who was already in the process of calling 911, discharged his pistol during the scuffle. Another video shows Mr. Hayes, who is an Iraq war veteran, tending to Mr. Gannon’s wound. Anti-Israel advocates were quick to pick up the case and vilify Mr. Hayes as an anti-Palestine fanatic. Jewish Voice for Peace’s Boston chapter issued a statement soon after the incident accusing Mr. Hayes of harassing anti-Israel protestors, adding that “Given these allegations we believe that as Jews in the Greater Boston Area, we are not safe with armed men like Scott Hayes around.” Amid the controversy, Mr. Hayes lost his contracting job. Members of the Jewish and Israeli community, however, have come out to voice their support for Mr. Hayes. Shortly after the incident, the Republican Jewish Coalition proclaimed that “We stand with Scott Hayes, who was defending himself after being attacked by a pro-Hamas maniac in Massachusetts.” Celebrated civil liberties lawyer, Alan Dershowtz, called on the DA’s office to arrest Mr. Gannon for assault, noting that “The fact that he hasn’t been arrested raises some serious questions.” A fundraiser set up to support Mr. Hayes during his legal battle quickly raised $267,033. Massachusetts is one of the few states that boasts a “duty to retreat” law which legally requires individuals to exhaust “all other reasonable efforts” before resorting to force. Given such restrictions, proving a self-defense case in Massachusetts is uniquely challenging. Even so, Mr. Hayes’ attorney has maintained that “This is a textbook case of self defense.” Mr. Hayes, though not Jewish himself, is outspoken in his support of the Jewish state and regularly attends of pro-Israel demonstrations. He traces his connection with the Jewish community to his childhood, where he was raised alongside Jews in his hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts. During his teenage years, his budding interest in joining the military spurred him to read up on World War II and the Holocaust, he says. It was then that he promised himself that he would not “sit by and keep my mouth shut” if the Jewish people were subject to persecution again. “ I wrote that check years ago and never thought it would get cashed,” Mr. Hayes says. “And then it did.”

Pro-Israel Protester Charged With Shooting a Man Attacking Him Tells the Sun DA Is ‘Playing Politics’ and Reneged on Plea Deal

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