Protester sentenced to county jail in death of Jewish counterprotester

A Ventura County judge sentenced Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, of Moorpark to one year in county jail and two years of felony probation for the death of Paul Kessler, the 69-year-old Jewish counterprotester who was fatally injured during a confrontation in Thousand Oaks.

The case grew out of dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The confrontation happened at the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard, near the Promenade at Westlake shopping center, where a crowded protest scene turned violent.

Kessler died on Nov. 6, 2023, after falling backward and striking his head on the pavement. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, saying blunt-force head trauma caused it. Prosecutors alleged Alnaji struck Kessler in the head with a megaphone or bullhorn, and that the impact caused the fall.

Alnaji pleaded guilty in May 2026 to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury. He also admitted a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury and used a weapon. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office sought a state prison sentence and objected to the court’s decision to impose jail time instead.

The district attorney’s office called the punishment too lenient for Kessler’s death. Alnaji is scheduled to report to jail on Aug. 7 and will receive credit for two days already served.

During sentencing, 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,” she wrote.

The scene drew about 75 to 100 people, and investigators initially faced conflicting witness accounts. Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff found there was not enough evidence for an immediate arrest after the Nov. 5, 2023 confrontation. Prosecutors later did not file hate-crime charges because the legal elements were not met, and they found no evidence that Alnaji arrived intending to kill or injure anyone.