Authorities arrest man in death of Jewish protester in California
The California college professor arrested in the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish man who suffered a head injury during an altercation at dueling protests over the Israel-Hamas war earlier this month, was charged with two felonies, officials said Friday.
Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, a 50-year-old college professor, was taken into custody Thursday morning, officials said. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said at a news conference.
Both felony charges come with special allegations that Alnaji personally inflicted great bodily injury, which elevates the offenses to "strikes" under California's three-strikes law, Nasarenko said.
Investigators have interviewed over 60 witnesses and pored over over 600 pieces of evidence, including videos and photos, officials said Friday. Alnaji was charged with involuntary manslaughter and not murder because the evidence shows he acted with criminal negligence, but not intent to kill, Nasarenko said.
"We received no evidence, no statements, no information whatsoever that the defendant arrived at that intersection… with the intent to kill, harm or injure anyone," he said.
Nasarenko said Alnaji has not been charged with a hate crime because the evidence so far hasn't met that standard, but an investigation is ongoing and a charge could be added later. Alnaji was booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility and his bail will be set at $1 million, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said.
Kessler, who was a pilot, worked in medical sales for decades and taught sales and marketing at satellite college campuses, Nasarenko said. He was married for 43 years and also leaves behind a son.
His family is in mourning, Nasarenko said. "They are grieving, and they are asking for privacy during this very difficult period."
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles in a statement said the arrest of Alnaji shows that “violence towards our community will not be tolerated.”
What happened to Paul Kessler?
Kessler, 69, died at a hospital on Nov. 6 from injuries he received during a confrontation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator a day earlier in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles.
At a news conference earlier this month, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said Kessler "fell backward and struck his head on the ground" sometime after the altercation started. Fryhoff said investigators were reviewing footage of the incident to determine what had led to Kessler's fatal fall.
Around 75 pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators were protesting at the corners of a busy intersection in Thousand Oaks, authorities said. Kessler was seen in photos waving an Israeli flag before he was injured.
Alnaji placed on leave from college, district spokesperson says
In a statement Thursday morning to the Ventura County Star, part of the Paste BN network, a Ventura County Community College District spokesperson confirmed that Alnaji is a district employee and said the district has been in communication with law enforcement "throughout this process."
Alnaji had been placed on administrative leave, the statement said.
He taught computer science classes at Moorpark College, according to a June version of the college webpage that has since been removed. The profile was no longer accessible on the public site on Nov. 9, days after Kessler’s death.
Representatives for the Ventura County Community College District, including Moorpark College President Julius Sokenu, did not to respond to multiple emails and phone calls and text messages sent since Nov. 9 requesting information on Alnaji’s employment status.
Suspect detained while investigators searched home
An unnamed 50-year-old suspect, who was described by Fryhoff as a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, stayed at the scene and was interviewed by law enforcement, Fryhoff previously told reporters. The man was "cooperative" and told detectives he was one of the people who called 911 requesting medical attention for Kessler. It's unclear if it's the same man taken into custody on Thursday.
After Kessler died, deputies temporarily detained the man while detectives searched his home in Moorpark. The results of the search have not been made public.
The incident prompted the sheriff to increase deputy patrols around local mosques and synagogues, citing rising tensions since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out last month.
Contributing: The Associated Press; The Ventura County Star