Scott Hayes, 47, says he lost his job because he defended himself by shooting an anti-Israel attacker who charged through traffic and tackled him in Newton, Massachusetts.
Hayes was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and released on a $5,000 bail on September 13 after he shot Caleb Gannon, 31, in the stomach the day before. Hayes pleaded not guilty and is arguing that he acted in self defense.
The disabled Iraq War veteran was contracted to provide natural gas leak detection, leak surveys, and inspections for a company that contracts with National Grid, one of the largest utility provider companies in Massachusetts.
National Grid refused to allow Hayes to work on their account after the incident. As a result, his company informed him on Sunday — a month after the attack — that there was no work available, and advised Hayes to file for unemployment.
“National Grid tried to hold me guilty until proven innocent and kept me out of work for one month because of optics,” Hayes told The Daily Wire. “Then, at about the 30-day mark, while I was honoring the hostages, I got a phone call telling me that I should go collect unemployment.”
“As of today, I am jobless,” he added.
National Grid was awarded $50 million in federal funding in 2023 for integrating more clean energy into the grid.
National Grid did not respond to a request for comment.
A judge ordered Hayes’s GPS ankle monitor removed last Monday — on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack — after granting his lawyer’s petition. The judge also lifted Hayes’s curfew and restrictions on being in Newton on the same day. Hayes’s lawyer noted in his motion that the GPS monitor incorrectly activated several times when Hayes used the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128, which go through Newton.
Hayes is still forbidden from possessing firearms, though his firearm was lawful at the time of the shooting. Hayes’s next court date is November 7.
Hayes is a frequent presence at pro-Israel demonstrations around eastern Massachusetts, where he often has American and Israeli flags.
Though not Jewish, Hayes says he believes it’s important to use his voice to call for the release of the 101 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and to stand up to anti-Semitism in the United States.
“If my life has to be ruined for trying to help the Jewish people to survive, then that’s the price,” he told The Daily Wire. “It’s a much bigger issue than me. What happened to me brought a lot of local Jewish people together and got them out and active because of the reality of what’s happening.”
Two days after the monitor was removed, Hayes drove to the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Chabad, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century. Known as the “Rebbe,” Schneerson’s grave is often visited by Jews and non-Jews alike who are inspired by his teachings and legacy.
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Hayes said he stumbled upon Schneerson’s teachings a few months ago and that they have brought him comfort since the fallout of the self-defense shooting.
Video obtained by The Daily Wire shows Gannon, wearing a Palestinian pin, standing across the street from Hayes, who was participating in a pro-Israel protest on the side of a high-traffic road. Gannon is seen in the video shouting at the pro-Israel demonstrators, calling them “sick” and accusing them of “supporting genocide.”
Gannon then charged across the street in front of cars, and tackled Hayes, who had called 911 on his cellphone seconds before. Moments later, while Gannon was on top of Hayes, Gannon was shot, and Hayes was seen placing the gun behind him on the pavement after the shooting.
In another video, Hayes was seen telling bystanders to call 911 and tending to Gannon’s wound.
A GoFundMe for Hayes has raised more than $260,000 since the incident.
Police are seeking to charge Gannon with assault and battery though he was still hospitalized as recently as Tuesday, according to the Boston Globe.
Gannon’s radical social media posts show him calling for the destruction of the United States, refusing to condemn Hamas, and calling murdered American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin a terrorist who “got what he deserved.”
“I don’t condemn Hamas. I condemn my family,” Gannon wrote in one post about the terrorist group that killed, raped or took hostage over 1,000 citizens from Israel on October 7.
Last month, Gannon’s father told the police that his son is mentally unstable and possibly autistic, the Boston Globe reported.
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