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Jason Eaton convicted of attempted murder in Vermont

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2026-09-22 18:52 UTC → 2026-09-25 02:06 UTC · added ~~removed~~

A Vermont jury has convicted Jason Eaton of three counts of attempted murder for the November 2023 shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington. The victims, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, were walking near the University of Vermont campus during a Thanksgiving holiday when the attack occurred. While all survived, Awartani remains paralyzed from the waist down. Throughout the trial, Eaton did not dispute that he was the shooter but relied on an insanity defense. His legal team argued that undiagnosed psychotic delusions—including the belief that intelligence agencies like the CIA and Mossad were transmitting orders to him via FM radio and Bluetooth—prevented him from distinguishing right from wrong. Eaton also testified that he believed God had commanded him to protect his Jewish neighbors. However, the jury rejected this defense after weighing conflicting testimony from psychiatric experts and forensic evidence suggesting Eaton intended to commit the crime. Prosecutors argued that while Eaton may have personality disorders, he did not meet the legal definition of insanity. The incident, which occurred shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, drew significant attention to the rise of anti-Palestinian sentiment and violence in the United States. Following the verdict, the families of the victims expressed relief, stating that while the decision cannot erase the trauma, it “affirms that Eaton is responsible for his actions.” Eaton, 51, faces a potential sentence of up to life in prison. He has been ordered to remain in jail pending a sentencing hearing.

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