A man accused in the death of Jewish protester Paul Kessler at a pro-Palestinian rally in Southern California will serve up to one year in jail and three years’ probation under a plea deal approved by a Ventura County judge.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan ruled that Loay Alnaji, 54, who is of Jordanian origin, would receive the reduced sentence after changing his plea Tuesday. His trial had been set to begin next week before a jury. The maximum sentence had been four years in prison.
Alnaji’s attorney, Ron Bamieh, said the deal followed several meetings with the judge, who described the case as one in which “two old guys had a dispute and an accident happened.”
“In light of the potential consequences entering a trial and what could happen, we decided that the best course of action is to accept a probation offer and plead guilty today,” Bamieh told The Ventura County Star outside the courtroom.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and Kessler’s family strongly opposed the deal. Senior prosecutor David Russell said authorities and the family had sought the maximum sentence. “This is over the people’s objection,” Russell told the judge.
According to the defense, Kessler aggressively pushed his cellphone toward Alnaji’s face during the Nov. 7, 2023, rally in Thousand Oaks. When Alnaji tried to push the phone away, he unintentionally struck Kessler in the face with a megaphone, the defense said. Lawyers also said Kessler had a brain tumor that worsened his injury after he fell and hit his head.
“It was a sad state of affairs, but Mr. Alnaji is a peaceful man and he has always been a peaceful man,” Bamieh said.
Kessler’s friend, Jonathan Oswaks, who attended the rally with him, said he was shocked by the plea deal.
“I was stunned when I heard about the deal,” Oswaks told ynet. “It doesn’t feel like justice was done. I’m not a lawyer, but the way this case was handled raises serious questions. I’m angry. This is a tragic case, and the way it is ending is very frustrating.”
Oswaks, 70, said he met Kessler shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, when he posted on social media calling for greater awareness of the Jewish people’s situation and Kessler was the only person who responded.
On the day of the rally, Oswaks said the two initially stood together, but split up because of the number of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“I told him to stay at one corner and I would go to another, about 30 meters away,” he said.
Oswaks said two men soon approached him and began verbally confronting him.
“They cursed and shouted antisemitic things in a way I had never experienced in my life,” he said. “They stood very close to me, shouted in my ears and used a megaphone.”
He said they moved away after he asked them to, then returned and harassed him again before eventually leaving.
Witnesses said Alnaji, a professor of computer science at a Ventura County community college, struck Kessler with a megaphone. The defense said the blow was accidental and that Kessler then stumbled, fell and suffered a fatal head injury.
Before the incident, Alnaji posted pro-Palestinian content on social media, including a post saying, “Allah, free the captivity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, sooner or later.”
An autopsy found that Kessler, 69, died of a head injury. His death was initially classified as a homicide, but the charge was later reduced to manslaughter.
Alnaji is scheduled to be formally sentenced June 25.