By Guy Page
Jason Eaton, the Burlington man arrested for shooting and wounding three Palestinian men on North Prospect Street on November 25, posted several pro-Hamas statements in social media, according to reports in Seven Days and, more recently, the conservative news and commentary website/magazine, National Review.
A post by Ari Blaff in today’s (Jan. 15) National Review says:
“Ten days after the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, which left over a thousand dead and hundreds taken hostage, Eaton wrote on X that ‘the notion that Hamas is ‘evil’ for defending their state from occupation is absurd. They are owed a state. Pay up.’”
Eaton reportedly also wrote in mid-November, in an online response to an article by Rep. Becca Balint advocating for a cease-fire:
“What if someone occupied your country? Wouldn’t you fight them?…Britain wouldn’t let ships with food sent by other countries into Ireland during the famine. My people starved.”
Eaton, whose online statements often appear rambling and chaotic, and who has been described as mentally unbalanced by a former landlord and others, remains in custody pending a trial for second-degree attempted murder. Prosecutor Sarah George said there is no evidence (yet) to charge Eaton with a hate crime, but did say it was a “hateful act.”