Supporters have raised more than $255,000 on a GoFundMe site for Scott Hayes, the Framingham man charged with shooting an individual in Newton who darted across a busy street toward him during a pro-Israel rally last week.
Hayes’ supporters, including Harvard attorney Alan Dershowitz, describe him as an Iraq war hero standing up for the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
But others tell GBH News that Hayes is well known in pro-Palestinian activist circles as a gun-toting individual who castigates those calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and insults and harasses peaceful protesters.
And they say, they warned Newton police before he arrived that he was a potential danger.
Sana Fadel, who belongs to a pro-Palestinian group in Newton, told GBH News she personally called acting Newton Police Chief George McMains on his cellphone on July 25, concerned that Hayes was coming to Newton. She pointedly cited the time of the call, 1 p.m.
Fadel said she learned about Hayes from a Plymouth group that sent out an alert in July showing a picture of him and another man, describing them as having guns, and warning Gaza ceasefire advocates to “be careful.”
She said she called Newton police after talking to members of her organization, the Sawa Newton-Area Peace Alliance, who said they had called a police dispatcher with concerns but were dismissed, “under the guise of free speech.”
“I said, 'This is what happened with the dispatcher. And they’re planning to come with guns,'” Fadel said.
A spokesperson for the Newton Police Department, Amanda Henrickson, confirmed that local residents had called police expressing fear that armed pro-Israel demonstrators were planning to disrupt pro-Palestinian rallies in the city. But she could not say if Hayes was specifically mentioned by name. McMains could not be reached for comment.
SAWA organizer Nathan Foster said he was disappointed in the police response. “The police have a responsibility to make sure that when people are engaging in political speech, they’re not engaging in physical violence or threats of physical violence,” he said.
David Knuttunen, a retired Newton engineer and a member of SAWA, said the fact that Hayes was brandishing a gun should not have come as a surprise to police.
“I mean, long before the shooting happened, people were talking about how some of the protesters were armed,” he said.
Foster, who is Jewish, said Hayes directed much of his anger at Jews who support a ceasefire in Gaza.
“What Scott and his group were doing was not making any distinction,” he said. ”Anybody who believes that Palestinians are human beings, we’re going to harass them and intimidate them. And one method of that was to call them [an] antisemite.”
Activists have collected a series of Hayes’ social media videos and photographs showing Hayes bumping against demonstrators and verbally accosting them.
In one, Hayes uploaded a photo of a gun on social media with the caption, “Hey Jew Haters, Bring it” on May 19.
One woman, who requested anonymity for fear of her safety, said Hayes frequently harassed her on X, formerly Twitter, and other social media platforms. Among various posts, he called her out by name saying he wanted to “have her little commie non binary kids,” according to a screenshot of the message shared with GBH News.
The woman, who is Jewish and served as a marshal at local pro-Palestinian protests in Newton and Lexington, said Hayes frightened her.
“I try not to show it in front of him because that’s counter to my role as security, but I am afraid of him,” she said. “I mean, it is scary to have an armed person that is aggressive and fixated on you like that, referring to me in very sexualized ways.”
Neither Hayes nor his attorney, Glenn MacKinley, could be reached for comment for this story. Hayes was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury. He pleaded not guilty on Sept. 13 and was released on $5,000 cash bail.
Hayes, who works as a contractor for National Grid, is required to wear a GPS tracker and remain indoors after work, confined to his home between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
He is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 4.
The man shot during the altercation, 31-year-old Caleb Gannon of Newton, is recovering, authorities say. He has been charged with assault and battery. Gannon’s father, in a police report, described his son as suffering from mental illness.
