Ventura County man charged in connection with death of Jewish protester during dueling rallies over Israel-Hamas War
Loay Alnaji, 50, of Moorpark, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish protester who died after an altercation at dueling rallies over the Israel-Hamas War earlier this month in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kessler, 69, died after suffering a head injury during a confrontation with a pro-Palestinian protester at simultaneous demonstrations held by pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups on November 5. The altercation took place on a sidewalk where Kessler was lying on his back with blood on his face and on the ground, as shown in a video shared online. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
An autopsy revealed that Kessler suffered non-lethal injuries on the left side of his face and injuries to the back of his head “consistent with and typical of injuries sustained from a fall,” according to Dr. Christopher Young, the chief medical examiner for Ventura County. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force head trauma and the manner of death a homicide, meaning the death occurred at the hands of another person.
Alnaji, who works at Moorpark College, has been placed on administrative leave from his job. His bail has been set at $1 million.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is urging community members with information about the incident to come forward and is asking anyone who was driving a vehicle with video recording equipment in the area where the dueling rallies were being held to reach out to detectives or submit evidence. An earlier news release said that details surrounding the altercation remain unclear due to conflicting accounts from pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian witnesses.
The district attorney’s office and sheriff’s office are expected to hold a news conference Friday morning to provide further updates on the case.