The man who shot and wounded an anti-Israel activist who ran across the street to tackle him has been fired from his job because of the incident, the Daily Wire reported.
Scott Hayes, a 47-year-old disabled Iraq War veteran, was attending a pro-Israel rally in Newton, Massachusetts when he was attacked by Caleb Gannon, who ran across a street and into traffic to leap upon and tackle Hayes to the ground, video from the incident shows. Gannon was pulled off of Hayes by witnesses, but continued to attack him. Hayes eventually drew his firearm and shot Gannon in the stomach in self-defense, after which he provided Gannon with medical aid.
Following the incident, Hayes was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury. He was eventually released on $5,000 bail. Hayes told the Daily Wire that he had been contracted to provide natural gas leak detention with the National Grid utility, but was barred from working with the company following the incident.
“National Grid tried to hold me guilty until proven innocent and kept me out of work for one month because of optics,” Hayes said. “Then, at about the 30-day mark, while I was honoring the hostages, I got a phone call telling me that I should go collect unemployment.”
“As of today, I am jobless," he said.
The decision to charge Hayes while not charging Gannon, who initiated the fight, attacked Hayes, and refused to stop attacking him even when others attempted to intervene, was criticized by Jewish groups.
The New England branch of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed concern about the rush to charge Hayes.
“Reports that charges were immediately filed prior to completion of the investigation are concerning,” the ADL said in a statement. “Protests should not subject anyone to violence. We encourage Newton Police and the Middlesex District Attorney to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire incident.”
Alan Dershowitz, the constitutional scholar known for his pro-Israel advocacy, said he was concerned about whether Hayes would be treated fairly. “They rushed to judgment against the man who was the victim of the assault and they didn’t charge the other man,” said Dershowitz, who noted that he has not been asked to take a role in the case. “They should have charged him immediately. Self-defense is complicated but assault is not.”
Gannon is expected to be summoned to court to face possible charges of assault and battery, though he still has not yet been charged.
Last week, Hayes had his GPS monitoring device removed.