The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a jury’s decision to convict a man of attempted murder charges for shooting three Palestinian college students, two of whom were wearing the keffiyeh, three years ago.
Jason Eaton, 51, faces up to life in prison in the November 2023 attack near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, which left Hisham Awartani paralyzed from the waist down and his friends, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid, wounded. The jury rejected an insanity defense rooted in Eaton’s claims he was acting on orders from the CIA and Mossad and attempting to protect his Jewish neighbors.
SEE: Jury convicts Vermont man of attempted murder in shooting of 3 Palestinian students
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We welcome the jury’s decision to convict Jason Eaton of attempted murder charges and rejecting the insanity defense. It is clear that Mr. Eaton targeted these Palestinian college students because they were visibly Palestinian.
“Fanning the flames of hate can very easily lead to violence, which is exactly what we have witnessed over the past three years. The pattern of violence that began with the murder of 6-year-old Wadea in Chicago by a man who hated Muslims and the shooting of these three Palestinian college students has not subsided in the three years since then. Political leaders must reject the bigotry of those elected officials who still fan the flames of anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim hate today.
“We pray for the full recovery of the victims of this shooting and stand in solidarity with them and their families. We urge all Americans to join together in repudiation of anti-Muslim hate and anti-Palestinian racism.”
CAIR previously welcomed the arrest of the perpetrator of the shooting.
CAIR also offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.
SEE: CAIR Offers $10K Reward for Info on Shooting Targeting 3 Palestinians in Vermont
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]