An individual involved in a pro-Palestine protest might escape incarceration after admitting guilt in the death of an elderly Jewish man during a demonstration.
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, reversed his plea regarding the tragic incident involving Paul Kessler, 69. This decision comes more than three years after Kessler, a pro-Israel supporter, died during a tumultuous protest in Thousand Oaks, California, following the attacks on October 7.
Video footage captured Kessler brandishing a large Israeli flag before he suffered a blow to the head from a megaphone, which caused him to fall and strike his head on the pavement on November 5, 2023. He succumbed to his injuries the next day.
On the day of the incident, Alnaji, a professor at a Southern California college, participated in a rally advocating for Palestine. Kessler was at the same event to voice his support for Israel as part of a counter-protest.
Pictured: Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji.
Defendant changed plea ahead of scheduled trial
The demonstrations were sparked by a shocking attack in October 2023, when Hamas militants launched an assault on Israel that resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 individuals and the abduction of 240 hostages.
Initially, Alnaji’s case was set to proceed to trial. However, he opted to plead guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury, as per statements from the prosecutors.
Alnaji also confessed to personally inflicting great bodily injury, using a weapon, and targeting a particularly vulnerable victim.
Despite the maximum sentence for his charges being four years, he will likely be granted probation with the possibility of up to a year in county jail, prosecutors said, because he changed his plea.
County jails are operated locally and are typically short-term facilities that often provide detainees with the opportunity to be granted work release, electronic monitoring, or early release.
Alnaji’s sentencing hearing is set for June 25. He is out of custody after posting a $50,000 bail, according to prosecutors.
Possible light sentence has angered parts of Jewish community
The possibility of Alnaji doing very little to no jail time for Kessler’s death has enraged the Jewish community, including Joshua Burt, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Burt, who runs the organization that was founded in 1913 to protect Jewish people, told the Los Angeles Times he fears that the suggested sentence could spark an uptick in violence against the Jewish population.
‘Without real, lasting consequences, men with evil intent or anger in their hearts will not be deterred from harming an already vulnerable community, elderly and Jewish alike,’ Burt told the outlet.
District Attorney Erick Nasarenko echoed Burt’s statement, stating: ‘Alnaji should be sentenced to prison for his violent behavior, and our office strongly objects to any lesser sentence.
‘While no amount of punishment will ever fully account for the Kessler family loss, a prison commitment underscores the severity of this crime and will deter others from committing similar acts of violence.’
Meanwhile, Rabbi Noah Farkas said he and some members of the community are grateful that Alnaji confessed to the crime.
‘While we would have liked a harsher sentence that better reflects the pain of the Kessler family, we respect the legal process,’ Farkas, the president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, said in a statement.
‘Our hope is that today’s news helps bring closure to his family and gives our community the ability to demonstrate safely.’
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Kessler’s death a homicide, with blunt force trauma as the cause.
While officials hosted a press conference on the deadly incident, Kessler’s friends and family gathered at the location of the protest to pay their respects.
He had been photographed just minutes before his death proudly holding an Israeli flag.
He and his wife Cheryl attended the event to peacefully counter the Palestinian protesters there.
Chalk artist Elana Colombo drew a blue Star of David around Kessler’s blood two days after he was fatally struck.
Others placed flowers, candles, and American and Israeli flags at the scene.
A violent attack was launched by members of Hamas, a Palestinian militant group and political organization, on October 7, 2023, while people attended the Nova music festival.
During the deadly raid, 378 people were killed, and several more were wounded as people celebrated the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re’im.
Hamas also took 44 people hostage, which led to both men and women reportedly being subjected to [sexuality]-based and sexual violence.
Nearly 20 Hamas attackers were killed by Israeli security forces near the open-air music festival that day.
After years of violence, the US brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on October 10, 2025.
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