Why is This Massachusetts Man in Jail for Defending HImself? 

Prosecutions such as this are what is wrong with this country.

He never should have been charged, and the prosecutor should be fired

Sucks that your ability to defend yourself without prosecution depends on the politics of the DA.

This case highlights a troubling trend where self-defense is being criminalized

The real crime, here was committed by the prosecutor. This is absolutely an abuse of power.

I think the charges should be dropped immediately. I live in Massachusetts. Unfortunately our state is full of criminal loving judges. Victims have no rights.

Self defense. No doubt about it. If someone tackled me & put me in a chokehold, I’d think they were trying to kill me.

It's 2024. 1) It's illegal to follow the law and 2) Legal to break it...

Self defense should never feel like a death sentence to ANYONE in America. -Combat Vet

I live in MA and I can’t wait to move. I can’t protect myself or my family without risk of jail time.

Resident here: Welcome to Massachusetts, Freedom was born and died here. A jury of his peers will not help the person who was attacked. it happened in a very liberal, wacky town/county.

Thank you for bringing this up I live in Massachusetts this is madness

Any judge who watches the video and doesn't immediately dismiss the case should be locked up.

It’s Massachusetts, they have some of the worst self defense laws in the country.

Because we don't put malicious government officials in prison for deprivation of rights under color of law/conspiracy against rights like we are supposed to.

I think the duty to retreat should be taken up all the way to the Supreme Court. I believe we should have countrywide stand your ground.

No wonder why Smith and Wesson relocated their headquarters from Massachusetts to Maryville Tennessee.

Self Defense is not an Act of Violence !

A cop in the same scenario could do a mag dump and never be charged. But citizens don't have the same rights as the kings men.

There is nothing perplexing about this. Liberal prosecutors prosecute specific people, not specific crimes.

Self defense drop charges.

Since when is protecting your own self a crime this whole thing is absurd

I live in Massachusetts. They state will not drop the charges they make examples out of anyone that legally defends themselves.

It’s Massachusetts. This is no surprise at all. Defending yourself will bankrupt and/or cost you your freedom.

Because the Soviet State of Massachusetts has no idea of what real self-defense laws look or sound like .

The charges should be dropped and he should be compensated $1,000 per day that he is unlawfully put under house arrest

Massachusetts, Southern New England in general is a hell hole when it comes to personal rights.

Charges need to be dropped. Those laws need to be changed.

They need to drop the charges

Mass is insane. I want to move to NH so bad. Trying to convince the wife. Love the people, hate the government, taxes and regulation.

Plain and simple self defense! No one has the right to put hands on you.

I have told many friends and family that owning and carrying a firearm in Massachusetts is a significant liability. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel the need to use it for self-defense, there's a remote possibility that the district attorney’s office may charge you with a criminal offense. If that happens, they can and will pursue charges against you. Even if you manage to successfully defend yourself, it will most likely lead to bankruptcy.

This man who got attacked should not be charged and sue the state for arresting him simply because he followed the law to the best of his ability and wanting to live

Every state should have stand your ground

Welcome to Massachusetts , where the criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizens!!!! Someone attacks you , you have to run away, someone breaks into your home you have to jump out a window , carjacked just give them your keys and walk away . What this state needs is to be stand your ground, inside or outside your home.

I keep an open mind on conflicts...this being on camera proves how egregious this charge is.

Charges should be dropped.

Being free in Massachusetts is a capital offense.

Massachusetts is disgusting! If more people were able to defend themselves the way this AWESOME veteran did, the state would be a more "polite" place to be.

A Mass jury will never convict this guy. Mass citizens are tired of the State’s paranoia.

This is straight up disgusting. The DA needs to be charged with obstructing the attacked man's rights! This is our forefathers rolling over in the graves. Our government is getting to much power. That any person can say that man overstepped after being attacked. These people need voted out! He should have never even been arrested!

This man Mr. Hayes never should have been arrested. That man ran full force at him and got him in a headlock. What has happened to America. God help us

He's not guilty of anything. It's obviously self defense. The second his arm went around the neck, there's no way to retreat, and is potentially lethal.

Get the best lawyer and sue the county big time. This is absurd. I live in MA. This place is a joke

I'm behind the lines in Mass, and would like to point out that although the Pro-Hamas guy was shouting at the woman, when he ran across the street he jumped on Mr. Hayes who had his back to him! welcome to Mass where Hayes was charged, jailed & arraigned... but the attacker-aggressor, who clearly could be/should be charged with a hate crime is being treated like a victim!

In Mass they warn you in all CCW classes expect to be arrested and charged when you are involved in a shooting.....regardless of situation.....your battle is in court, not on the streets......

Seeing BS like this really gets my blood boiling!

"When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals." ~ Edward Snowden

This is shameful. The laws are becoming stricter against gun self-defense. A mob attacks one man, and the only thing he has is his gun, and the law is saying you can't use his weapon even when being beaten to the ground. The laws are getting ridiculous, and the DAs are corrupt in that they prefer to have the defendant man dead or badly injured but not use his gun.

This is a CLEAR case of self defense. This man was attacked with deadly force and knocked to the ground, then placed a chock hold. What more needs to be said!

I'm from Massachusetts. Where the criminals have more rights than you when you are trying to defend yourself.

The gentleman should not have been charged with any crime. He was attacked and defending himself.

Malicious prosecution. PERIOD.

Judge needs to be impeached!!

Freedom is gone. America the fallen. Free the guy and fight for your rights.

This man should not be in jail !!! And good news he will be alright ?? That’s a shame

The law makes it nearly impossible to withstand an attack from a criminal ..

If I was on that jury,, the video would speak for itself, no matter what the instructions were.

Short answer is he defend his self.

He is totally in the right and all charges should be dismissed!!

Ah the fact that he was knocked to the ground and a chokehold was placed around his neck means his life was in jeopardy. And the bad person was not even in control of his emotions who knows what he intended to do but his actions says a lot about how how unstable he was.

Duty to retreat is nuts. In Canada PM Trudeau has actually said "if you use a gun to defend yourself you WILL be charged with murder or attempted murder." Back in the summer of 1977 I worked on a farm out west for the experience, thoroughly enjoyed it, have the utmost respect for farmers ever since. While there an "old timer" (have to be careful here, I'm now around this old timers age) from a neighbouring farm came to visit. While talking trying to get the chickens into the barn (large black bear had been spotted prowling around, they love chickens) he related that his farm house was broken into at 2am. He heard someone downstairs, his wife and 2 visiting young grandkids were asleep upstairs. Upon venturing downstairs, he was attacked, a fight ensued. Criminal fell and struck his head on the kitchen counter corner (for young people, back in 1977 most kitchen counter corners had a metal strip, nasty to fall against) and the man's brains were spilled all over the floor, he was dead. Farmer woke up his wife to clean up the mess. Farmer drove his body using his farm's front end loader to a far off corner of his farm and buried the body. I asked "what did the police say, why didn't you call them?" He looked at me and said "in Canada, police will always charge you with murder. I'm not taking that chance, he broke into my house, I defended my family and unfortunately for this man he died in our struggle, it's on him. I won't risk my freedom for his criminal conduct." Everyone from back then is long dead now, too much time has passed. I look back and don't know if I agree with the then "old timer farmer" but I understand completely why he decided what he did. As with this video's case, some DAs or in Canada Crown Prosecutors are just itching to jail innocent people defending themselves, that's not right. These prosecutors disgust me, if you're attacked why this "duty to retreat?" Or "proportional force" nonsense. How is the innocent person being attacked to know how far his attacker will go? Can they read their attacker's mind? Why can't you defend yourself with any and all means? Plus, the victim here was much older than his attacker, I doubt very much if he could outrun his attacker even if he tried to flee to safety. He shouldn't have been charged, it's nothing short of an abomination of justice!

This is why there are entire STATES I will never visit again. Massachusetts is among them. The saddest part is that most of the original New England states are the least likely to allow the Bill of Rights to be the law!

Massachusetts: Guilty until proven innocent ! “Commonwealth”

This really is not a surprise, the state votes democrat all the time.

Totally not guilty.. Release immediately.

"Duty to retreat" is horseshit. Not everyone can just "Run Away".

That is the definition of fuck around and find out

we need one of these cases to go to the supreme court

Hayes could argue for the guy to be charged with a hate crime.

Self Defense is not a crime.

I am very happy that I do not live in that state,and I will never visit it. Apparently it's easier for criminals to get away with crimes there than it is for honest people to defend themselves.

In the communist state of Mass this guy is in trouble. Keep us up on this case. The best thing for people to do is leave the state if possible.

Hope the guy has good self-defense lawyers & 21 feet experts in self-defense in trial.

The man that got attacked in my opinion has every right to defend himself. Being former military, you don’t have time to stop a bag guy and ask your chain of command permission to engage in a fight or not, this is so stupid the man stopped the guy that attacked him and then called for help for the attacker, Massachusetts is so backwards in there think, if someone attacked me like that I would have done the same thing, I was in combat to long for some political party to tell me that I’m in the wrong to defend myself

I knew this was coming. If we defend ourselves, we are the ones in trouble. They want us scared to defend ourselves.

Corrupt government is why I always say to never wait around for the police.

I got arrested as a civilian with a single .22 round in my pocket in mass . I live in NH so didn’t even think about it being a problem and totally forgot I had ut

100% all charges should be dropped against Hayes

I would never live in any north east state, because of this type of BS.😮

Those in black robes have lost the confidence of the people.

Massachusetts... tells you all you need to know.

The defendant should be immediately exonerated of all charges. He was on the ground rightfully defending himself. What about WA State same circumstances?

In liberal Massachusetts the aggressor is the victim and the victim is the defendant Why would any state allow the attacker dictate the terms of a fight that they started

unfortunately I live here and see this happen to good people defending themselves and turn them into criminals, disgrace of an American state.

I live in mass and this makes me want to leave. Absolutley pathetic that a man can't defend himself. What happens on the civil law side of this?

As a victim, of this unwanted assault My riggitortoise hinders my mobility & my broken neck escalates my risk for permanent paralysis! No charges for shooter.

I hate this state so much.

The assault starts when the guy starts running. Battery starts when he lays hands. Duty to retreat starts from the laying of hands until both fall to the ground. About .4sec. Humans unanticipated reaction time is slower than that (ref O.O.D.A. loop timing). After the choke hold duity to retreat is voided moot. District atty. reject. Now on to civil court. He hurt my feelings forcing me to be irrational. He should not have had a gun, because guns are bad.

The People’s Republic of Massachusetts, where liberty was born and died.

Thanks for covering this. Its a disgrace that this man was charged.

The assault guy is going to be pooping in a bag for quite some time. A life of gut problems because he was incapable of controlling himself

Massachusetts d.a. is in the wrong here. Man should not be charged.

Why is USCCA not allowed by AG Bob Ferguson to operate business in the state of Washington?

The choke hold prevents retreat.

Long life resident of Massachusetts here love my state but they should embarrassed for trying to prosecute this man😬

Duty to Flee literally protects the attacker

This guy should not be charged.

The point is to scare us, scare us into not defending ourselves from the imported violence in our nation. We can hope he's acquitted of these charges for their stupidity, but you never know how a jury will decide our fate. Even if he's acquitted, the thought of going through his ordeal will give some pause and worsen our landscape of political violence, which is exactly the intent. Don't be that guy, defend yourself as he did and live to face the injustice of tyranny rather than die then and there.

If convicted, he needs to appeal this all the way to the Supreme Court and get these laws declared unconstitutional