Mental illness argument rejected by jury

By VDC staff

A Vermont jury has convicted Jason Eaton on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington in November 2023, rejecting his defense that he was legally insane at the time.

Jurors returned the verdict Monday, Sept. 21, after deliberating for about two hours in Chittenden Superior Court. Eaton, 51, did not dispute that he shot Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad as the three men walked near his Burlington apartment on Nov. 25, 2023.

The three longtime friends, who are Palestinian, were visiting Awartani’s grandmother for Thanksgiving. They had been speaking Arabic and English, and two were wearing keffiyehs. Awartani was left paralyzed by his wounds, while Abdalhamid and Ali Ahmad were also wounded.

Eaton’s lawyers argued that he was not criminally responsible because of mental illness. During the trial, the defense presented evidence that Eaton believed the CIA and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad were communicating with him through FM radio and directing his actions. Prosecutors argued that Eaton knew what he was doing and understood that it was wrong. The jury rejected the insanity defense.

Eaton was ordered held pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. He faces a possible sentence of up to life in prison.

The Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation welcomed the conviction Tuesday, calling it justice for the three victims while using the verdict to renew its criticism of U.S. and Israeli policies toward Palestinians.

“After three years of waiting and worrying that justice delayed would again be justice denied,” the coalition said, “a jury found Eaton guilty on all three counts of attempted murder, finally delivering a modicum of justice for the three students and their families.”

Wafic Faour, a leader of the coalition and its contact for the statement, said the group believes the shooting must be understood in the broader context of attitudes toward Palestinians in the United States.

“The verdict against him is a blow to all the injustice our government and society has meted out to Palestinians,” the coalition statement said. “It offers Hisham, Kinnan, and Tahseen and their families some closure to this horrible episode in their lives.”

The coalition described the shooting as a hate crime and said Eaton targeted the men because they were Palestinian. Eaton, however, was prosecuted for attempted murder, not under a separate hate-crime charge. News accounts of the trial reported that prosecutors pointed to Eaton’s statements about the victims and their Palestinian identity in arguing that his actions reflected prejudice rather than the legally exculpating insanity claimed by the defense.

Faour’s organization also criticized the judge’s decision during the trial to require Palestine supporters in the courtroom gallery to remove their keffiyehs. The coalition called that decision discriminatory. That characterization represents the coalition’s position; the three shooting victims were permitted to wear their keffiyehs.

The coalition said the conviction would strengthen its efforts in Vermont in support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel and other pro-Palestinian causes.

New information about Mohsen Mawdawi

In a related issue, investigative journalist David Collier and Vermont researcher Rachel Feldman will be guests on Chronicle Conversations Wednesday September 22 at12:30 PM on WVMT AM 620 and WVMTradio.com to discuss what they say is new information about Palestinian anti-Israel activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was detained by ICE in 2025 in Colchester, then released by a Vermont federal judge. His case was celebrated by elected officials and supporters in the Vermont State House.

Collier and Feldman have previously published investigations of Mahdawi’s past statements and activities, including Arabic-language remarks that they contend provide a different picture of his political views and involvement in the Palestinian “resistance” movement than has been presented by his supporters. Those interpretations have been disputed by Mahdawi’s supporters and should be understood as claims by Collier and Feldman rather than established findings.