Moorpark College professor Loay Alnaji was arrested early Thursday morning by deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paul Kessler. Kessler, a Jewish man, was attending a counterprotest to a pro-Hamas rally in Thousand Oaks, California on November 5 when Alnaji confronted him and allegedly hit him in the face with a bullhorn, causing Kessler to fall backward and hit his head on the pavement. Kessler died hours later at a local hospital.
RedState first identified Alnaji as the person of interest Ventura County deputies mentioned in their first press conference about the incident. Alnaji’s home in Moorpark was searched by deputies one week ago, but at the time they said they did not have enough evidence to arrest him in the homicide, primarily due to conflicting witness statements.
As noted in the press release, authorities are still investigating the incident, and additional arrests are possible.
