Scott Hayes was attacked on Sept. 12 by Caleb Gannon, a terrorist supporter, while he peacefully participated in a pro-Israel rally on a street corner in Newton, Mass. Yet, it is Hayes, an Iraq war veteran, who was arrested.
A long-standing ally and friend to the Jewish community, Hayes was holding American and Israeli flags. In video footage shared widely, Gannon is seen running across the street, charging at and attacking Hayes. At one point, Gannon allegedly had his arms around Hayes’s neck, appearing to choke him. Hayes, in self-defense, allegedly shot Gannon with a legal weapon. Wrongfully, Hayes has been arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, in addition to a violation of a constitutional right causing injury. After many hours in jail, he was released and must now wear a GPS monitoring device.
Much like the State of Israel, Hayes was viciously assaulted and is being blamed for defending himself.
Hayes is an American hero—a patriot Zionist, who left his home to speak up peacefully and was attacked. The only thing people should be saying to Hayes is thank you for serving America, and for standing with the Jewish and pro-Israel community. It is shameful that Hayes, whose weapon is legal and his actions self-defense, was charged with a crime. Shame on Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan for charging him. Would it have been better if he was choked to death?
Gannon has called for the destruction of America, as he tweeted from an account that has since been suspended, “United States government is a rogue terrorist organization” and that “all police precincts, military bases, and government offices must be liquidated immediately, and all resources from them redirected back into their communities.” He also wrote, “I am so ready for the post-American world.”
A Hamas supporter, Gannon praised the murder of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, writing: “He was a terrorist in a foreign land, got what he deserved.” He has also retweeted posts that said Zionists should feel “unsafe everywhere” and says if “someone were to bomb the U.S. Pentagon, they’d be bombing terrorists.”
Jews and those who stand with Israel are under attack in the United States, and the only thing one should say to Hayes is “Thank you.” If he is prosecuted, then no one is safe attending any protest in Massachusetts. Decent people cannot be silent in the face of this injustice and must demand that Ryan drop all charges immediately.
Americans must not be silent and must stand firmly with Scott Hayes, as well as the right of any American to protect themselves.
