click to enlarge - Derek Brouwer ©️ Seven Days
- Jason Eaton
The Burlington man accused of shooting three Palestinian students appeared in court on Friday — as did 20 or so spectators who wore kaffiyehs, the symbolic scarves that two of the victims were wearing on the November night they were shot.
Chittenden County prosecutors and attorneys for Jason Eaton, who faces three counts of attempted murder, told a state judge that they hope to have the case ready for trial by January 2025. The ambitious, perhaps unlikely timetable stems in part from Eaton's desire to have the case resolved quickly, according to one of his public defenders, Sarah Varty. Eaton has been incarcerated since his November arrest.
Just before the hearing was to begin, Eaton's attorneys asked Judge Kevin Griffin whether their client could change from his prison jumpsuit into street clothes to avoid coloring the opinions of potential jurors.
Griffin complained that the request had not been filed weeks earlier, then asked Chittenden County Sheriff Dan Gamelin whether he objected to the request. Gamelin did not, so the court recessed for several minutes while Eaton changed into a blue collared shirt.
Once Eaton entered the courtroom, a deputy unshackled his wrists, also at his defense team's request, so Eaton could take notes during the hearing.
click to enlarge - Derek Brouwer ©️ Seven Days
- Spectators at the hearing, including Palestinian activist Wafic Faour (center)
The spectators in kaffiyehs, including well-known Palestinian activist Wafic Faour, watched silently as the otherwise routine hearing unfolded.
The Chittenden County State's Attorney has not ascribed a motive to the crime, and Eaton reportedly said nothing to his victims —
Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid — before allegedly opening fire on the night of November 25, 2023. The men grew up in the West Bank together and now attend colleges on the East Coast. All three were visiting Burlington over Thanksgiving break.
The ongoing war in Gaza, the victims' ethnicity, the fact that they were speaking Arabic and their Palestinian scarves have prompted speculation that Eaton was driven by hate.
Seven Days previously reported that a review of Eaton's history
paints the picture of a complicated person with views not easy to pigeonhole. In fact,
Seven Days viewed posts by Eaton on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that suggested
he had some sympathy for the Palestinian side of the conflict.
Whether prosecutors will seek a hate-crime enhancement charge in the case was not discussed during Friday's hearing. The bar for proving a hate crime in Vermont courts is high.
After the hearing, Eaton's attorneys told reporters that they were still conducting their own investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
"Our request is for patience and to keep an open mind," public defender Peggy Jansch said.
She said Eaton hopes for "healing" for the three young men, one of whom remains partially paralyzed, and their families.
"That healing includes the larger community of Burlington and throughout the world," Jansch added.