Newton, Massachusetts, provides us with one of the latest examples of progressives’ time immemorial propensity for violence.
The story of Scott Hayes and the savage assault he suffered at the hands of a Palestinian flag-pin sporting and surgical mask-wearing attacker, Caleb Gannon, on the streets of Newton last September, and the DA’s charging decisions, are so emblematic of all that is wrong with the Democratic Party today.
The video of Mr. Hayes being attacked is shocking. Mr. Hayes, a non-Jewish, reportedly disabled Iraq War veteran, who was lawfully armed, was attending an outdoor rally in Newton on September 12, 2024, along with other supporters of Israel, protesting the horrific violence visited upon Israelis on October 7, 2023. On that day, of course, over a thousand innocent men, women and children were brutally raped, mutilated, murdered and kidnapped by members of Hamas.
The events in Newton were helpfully caught on video, thanks to ubiquitous cell phone cameras. Mr. Gannon initially stood across the street from the pro-Israeli crowd, shouting at them, accusing them of committing genocide against Palestinians and calling them “sick.” Okay, it’s a free country.
What happened next, though, was a violent assault initiated from all appearances by Mr. Gannon. He raced across the street and in an NFL-worthy tackle, took Mr. Hayes to the ground, violently beating him. Mr. Gannon continued to pummel Mr. Hayes while bystanders tried to pull him off. Eventually, Mr. Hayes did what any sane person would do, drew his weapon, and shot Mr. Gannon. He then placed his pistol behind him, asked bystanders to call 911, and began administering medical aid he’d learned in the military to Mr. Gannon, as video suggests.
Looking at the videos, it seems pretty clear that Mr. Gannon initiated events and severely assaulted Mr. Hayes. He appeared to be bashing the latter’s head while on top of him, whereupon Mr. Hayes drew his weapon and fired into Mr. Gannon’s abdomen. The incident bears similarities to what occurred between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman in 2012, although Mr. Martin’s ending wasn’t as happy as Mr. Gannon’s.
Immediately after the incident, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan charged Mr. Hayes with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, but she did not initially charge Mr. Gannon. As famed Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told reporters, “They should have charged him [Gannon] immediately. Self-defense is complicated but assault is not.” Eventually, Mr. Gannon was charged with assault and battery in December, nearly three months after the fact. Both men, of course, should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Mr. Hayes had to wear a GPS monitor pending his legal proceedings and was barred from entering the town of Newton, which was difficult, as Mr. Hayes’ work (from which he was subsequently let go due to publicity surrounding the case) and doctor’s appointments took him to Newton. That restriction was eventually lifted by the court. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 30. A GoFundMe account has been created for his legal defense.
Ms. Ryan proudly boasts on her website of her “restorative justice practices” and her office’s “diversionary programs.” This is all Progressive-speak for: Let’s keep the bad guys on the streets as much as possible. And on another fawning webpage, we see, “Under her leadership, the Office implemented the practice of not requesting cash bail in low-level non-violent offenses to avoid the impact of pretrial detention.” Right. That whole no-cash bail thing has worked out so well. Just ask the beleaguered citizens of New York City.
Why is it that almost all political violence these days seems to come from the Left? Whether it is a homicidal maniac stalking the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, intent on murdering him and his family over the Dobbs court decision, or the 2020 “Summer of Love” that saw entire cities burn because a drug-dealing thug named George Floyd died of heart failure with a lethal level of fentanyl in his system while in police custody, or Leftists setting Teslas on fire over DOGE (or something), there seems to be a violence gene in those who call themselves “progressive.”
The truth is that those who cast themselves on the Leftist end of the political spectrum - whether “liberal,” “progressive,” “socialist,” “Marxist” or “Communist” - have historically been politically violent. The Jacobins in the lead-up to the French Revolution in the late 18th century ushered in unspeakable violence during the Reign of Terror as they sought to overturn the French monarchy and establish La Republique. That would mean execution for over 10,000 French citizens, including King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antionette. Many of those unfortunates, including most of the leftist characters who kicked things off, would end up losing their heads to that most efficient of inventions, the guillotine. That device, actually invented by German engineer Tobias Schmidt, was promoted by French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who viewed it as a “humane” form of execution. Sadly for Dr. Guillotin, he would eventually lose his own head to the “national razor” in the spasms of French leftist violence. C’est la vie.
Leftist violence would only increase by orders of magnitude in succeeding centuries, as millions would be killed in the Soviet Union by the communist Josef Stalin, and many millions more by China’s communist leader Mao Zedong. Liberals reading this will say, “But! But! But! Hitler! He was a fascist right-winger and he killed millions!” Well, Hitler led a party called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Yes, the Nazis were a socialist party. More leftists, historical revisionism notwithstanding.
I'm concerned that America’s leftists will only continue their violent legacy in the coming years, and I fear greatly for the safety of President Trump and Elon Musk. When the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, is so distrustful of his own agency that he had to request a security detail from outside the FBI, then Houston, we have a problem.
Sane Democrats, if any there be, must soon take control of their party and bring its more radical members to heel, or they will forever remain in the political wilderness.
William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and non-profit sectors for 38 years. He is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc., and has been a contributor to Townhall, American Thinker, Epoch Times, The Federalist, American Greatness, and other publications. His work has been featured on CBS News 48 Hours Mysteries and NBC News Dateline. (The views expressed are the author’s alone, and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)