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Multiple members of the group Lexington for Palestine recognized Scott Hayes — the Framingham man who shot another man during an altercation at a pro-Israel demonstration in Newton on Thursday — as part of a group of outside counter-protesters who have been threatening demonstrators at its recent weekly rallies.
Toby Sackton, Lexington resident and member of Lexington for Palestine, said he recognized Hayes, 47, as one of a group of counter-protesters who began “harassing” pro-Palestine demonstrators in Lexington in August.
“They have come with bullhorns, cameras, flags, and instead of simply standing on their corner, they shove, push, threaten and assault us,” Sackton told LexObserver. “They aim to terrorize us.”
Lexington for Palestine, a group which Sackton said includes Palestinian families, other Muslims, Jews and Christians, has been holding weekly standouts at the corner of Pleasant St. and Mass. Ave. since March, calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
Sackton said the group’s protests had been peaceful and “almost uplifting despite the seriousness of the war” until August, when “outsiders” began appearing to taunt them. The counter-protesters do not appear to be from Lexington or in any way affiliated with the peaceful group that has been marching in Lexington since last October in solidarity with the Israeli hostages, Sackton stressed.
“Lexington for Palestine is sweet and kid-friendly,” Katie Flynn, Lexington resident and member of Lexington for Palestine, told LexObserver. “We had been proud of teaching peaceful protest and community-building to our kids.”
Like Sackton, Flynn recognized Hayes when she saw Thursday’s news of the shooting in Newton. She told LexObserver that she has seen Hayes and others yell profanities at children and elderly women.
“The counter protesters held megaphones blaring sirens directly in the kids’ ears and called them ‘rape supporters,’” she told LexObserver. Flynn said one of the agitators followed an elderly demonstrator with his megaphone and said, “I’m going to shove this flagpole up your [expletive].”
Sackton said that because of the counter-protestors’ explicit taunts, Lexington for Palestine members are no longer involving their children in demonstrations. And because of what happened on Thursday, many members are afraid to attend its rally next week, Flynn told LexObserver.
Hayes has also been spotted at pro-Palestine rallies in Quincy, according to the Patriot Ledger. He frequently posts on X about disrupting pro-Palestine demonstrations in Lexington and other towns including Cambridge, Beverly, Salem and Plymouth.
Around 6:40 pm on Thursday evening, Newton police responded to an altercation in the Newtonville neighborhood where Hayes reportedly shot a passerby who had jumped on him while participating in a pro-Israel demonstration.
In a press conference on Thursday, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said an individual was walking down the opposite side of the street from where Hayes and others were demonstrating when “words were exchanged.” She said that the passerby ultimately came across the street and “jumped on one of the demonstrators, a scuffle ensued. During that scuffle, the individual who came from across the street was shot by a member of the demonstrating group.”
Ryan confirmed during the press conference that Hayes was the shooter.
Hayes was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as violation of a constitutional right causing injury, and the passerby is suffering life-threatening injuries, Ryan said during the press conference.
The man who was shot was later identified as Caleb Gannon of Newton. Gannon’s father told Newton police his son “suffered from mental illness and was believed to be autistic.”
Supporters of Hayes created a gofundme page for him which notes that he is an Iraq War veteran and is not Jewish. Since Friday afternoon, nearly $200,000 has been raised in his support.
Members of Sawa: Newton-Area Alliance for Peace and Justice state on its website that they have previously notified Newton police that Hayes had been attending protests “armed with a gun and acting aggressively toward anti-war protesters.”
“This is frightening to us since the person charged has been here in Lexington yelling insults and misogynistic threats and trying to force us to react,” Sackton told LexObserver. “It speaks to the danger of rising political violence even in Massachusetts.”
Hayes was arraigned Friday at Newton District Court and is due back in court on Nov. 7.
This is an ongoing story. We have made updates to reflect new information and will continue to update.
Thank you for the thoughtful article LexObserver!
I urge everyone to view the video in it’s entirety. Mr. Hayes was attacked by the aggressor-he was not the agitator. This man ran across the street and became violent with Mr. Hayes. This article is clearly biased and not a representation of the events that occurred.
Thank you for reporting on this. As a nearby resident it’s been awful to see this happening at a peaceful protest in Lexington.
Thanks for reporting on this!
Thank you for the article, particularly for the background on Scott Hayes and his agitator role. It is frightening to know that he has likely been carrying a gun to the dozens of demonstrations he has led all over Massachusetts. I have been present in many of the ceasefire demonstrations he has protested against.
Why is that scary?
You do realize that many people carry concealed guns for protection?
What would you do if someone tackled you to the ground and tried to choke you?
Thank you for reporting on this. It was a shame to see the aggressive, counter-protests and violent threats led by Hayes in response to the family-friendly peaceful protests in Lexington.
Thank you, Lexington Observer, for the article and for bringing attention to this.
Well, isn’t it terrible that people want to defend themselves from violent attacks. Shocking. Watch the video.
We need more articles shining a light on people who bring violence to peaceful protests and try to antagonize. Thanks for this, Observer team.
What a biased article. Did you watch the video? Appears not. Gannon started harassing peaceful protesters, ran across a busy street and tackled scott Hayes to the ground. Gannon was on top of Hayes punching and choking him. Hayes has a license to carry therefore it is his right to be carrying a firearm. Gannon could just as easily gotten possession of Hayes’ gun and shot him. Portraying Hayes as an agitator because he goes to Pro-Palestinian rallies with pro-Israel signs is also a clear sign of bias. And the “peaceful” Lexington pro-Palestinian demonstrators aren’t always so peaceful. There is a video on X to prove it. Have you seen all the pro-Palestinian demonstrators showing up at Jewish restaurants, Jewish events, etc defacing property, blocking access? Yet when Scott Hayes shows up with an Israeli and American flag at a pro-Palestinian demonstration exercising his 1st amendment rights, he’s an agitator. Disgusting bias. Shame on your paper.
Exactly
You identify Scott Hayes as “the aggressor” but he was violently attacked in Newton and had a right to defend himself. You also write “He also frequently posts on X about disrupting pro-Palestine demonstrations” but if you follow that link and look at Scott’s actual posts, he is calling out an antisemite for making a Nazi salute and expressing his political opinions. The Observer should provide more objectivity in its coverage.
[Meant to say above that Scott was expressing his opinions, not calling out an antisemite for doing that.]
Thank you, Karen Baytch, for pointing out how biased this article is.
Why was Mr Hayes carrying a loaded gun to a peaceful protest or rally. Seems he looks for trouble. Enough people tackled the man no need to pull a gun.