A Vermont jury has convicted Jason Eaton, 51, of attempted murder following the shooting of three Palestinian college students near the University of Vermont campus in November 2023. The jury rejected an insanity defence, which was based on claims that Eaton was acting on orders from the CIA and Mossad.
Eaton faces up to life in prison for the attack, which left Hisham Awartani paralysed from the waist down and injured Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid. The jury deliberated for several hours after a week-long trial that included testimony from the three victims and psychiatric experts.
Eaton had pleaded not guilty but did not dispute being the shooter. His lawyers argued he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity, citing his belief that US and Israeli intelligence agencies transmitted orders to him via FM radio and that God commanded him to protect his Jewish neighbours.
Eaton has been ordered to be held in jail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. The families of the three men stated that "Justice has been rendered for Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen."