(ProsperNews.net) – A college professor from Southern California was charged on November 16 with battery and involuntary manslaughter in the death of 69-year-old Jewish demonstrator Paul Kessler during a protest over the Israel-Hamas armed conflict. In a statement, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said that the two charges have special allegations that 50-year-old Loay Alnaji personally inflicted a severe “bodily injury” on Kessler during a confrontation. The event, which started as a pro-Palestine protest, took place in a Los Angeles northwest suburb named Thousand Oaks.
According to different reports, Kessler was part of a gathering of pro-Jewish protesters who suddenly showed up at the protest, which officials said was originally advertised as a peaceful event to support “innocent Palestinians.” Kessler died on November 6 at a hospital, a day after the event.
On November 7, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said during a press briefing that deputies determined that the 69-year-old man struck his head on the ground after falling backward. He told reporters that investigators didn’t have a clear view of a physical altercation between the two men before Kessler’s fall, according to the different videos they gathered. Fryhoff also said that the sheriff’s office wanted the public to provide additional footage of the altercation in case anyone had other videos.
According to The Associated Press, the department didn’t clarify whether additional videos or any other evidence prompted the arrest of Alnaji. Before he was charged, special prosecutor Edward Obayashi told the news agency he wasn’t surprised by Alnaji’s arrest on suspicion of involuntary homicide, which is the lowest charge authorities can impose for a death.
Obayashi also explained that more charges, including one for a hate crime, could still be considered by the sheriff’s office. The special prosecutor, who is also a former San Diego police officer, added that the current social unrest about Middle Eastern politics is putting a lot of “pressure” on authorities.
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