Loay Alnaji, a computer science professor at Ventura County Community College, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with involuntary manslaughter after he was involved in a deadly confrontation with pro-Israel demonstrator Paul Kessler.
In early November, Kessler died of his wounds following “a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s),” in Los Angeles, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement afterward. “During the altercation, Kessler fell backward and struck his head on the ground. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force head injury and the manner of death homicide,” the statement continued.
At the time of the incident, an unnamed suspect, since identified Alnaji, was detained by police as law enforcement conducted a home search before releasing the suspect on his own accord. Ventura County sheriff Jim Fryhoff told reporters shortly after that Alnaji was cooperative with authorities, though police refrained from publicly disclosing his name until a more thorough investigation was conducted.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles issued a statement in response to Kessler’s death, insisting that he was assaulted with a megaphone by a pro-Palestinian protester.
“We are devastated to learn of the tragic death of an elderly Jewish man who was struck in the head by a megaphone wielded by a pro-Palestinian protestor in Westlake Village. Our hearts are with the family of the victim,” the organization said, noting the incident is Los Angeles’s fourth major antisemitic crime this year.