A Moorpark man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of a protester at a Free Palestine demonstration in 2023 was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation, according to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.
The charges against Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, of Moorpark stemmed from a November 2023 protest in Thousand Oaks where Alnaji was accused of hitting Paul Kessler on the head with a megaphone, causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement.
Alnaji will begin serving his one-year prison term Aug. 7 and will get jail-time credit for two days previously served, authorities said.
The Ventura County district attorney’s office had called for a state prison sentence in the case “and objected to the court’s decision to impose one year of jail and probation,” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.
During the sentencing hearing, victim impact statements were read, including one from Kessler’s widow.
“There are no words to describe the pain of losing a husband in such a sudden and violent way,” his widow wrote. Her quote was included in the district attorney’s statement, but she was not identified.
In May, Alnaji pleaded guilty to charges of felony, involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury. He also admitted to “a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, along with aggravating factors that he used a weapon and that the victim was particularly vulnerable,” authorities said.
The incident began when Alnaji joined a rally on the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards in support of Palestinians, while Kessler had attended a counter protest in support of Israel, The Times reported.
According to prosecutors, Alnaji escalated a verbal altercation to a physical clash with Kessler. After Kessler fell to the ground. Alnaji remained at the scene, called emergency services and provided investigators with a statement, the district attorney’s office said.
Kessler, 69, died from his injuries the next day. Alnaji was taken into custody days later and charged in connection with Kessler’s death, authorities said.
“Mr. Kessler lost his life in a violent attack that took him from his family and his wife of 43 years,” said Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko. “Given the circumstances of this case and the death that resulted, we believe a state prison commitment was the appropriate and just sentence.”
Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
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