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Central Coast professor charged in death of Jewish protestor

November 16, 2023

Loay Almaji waited at the scene after allegedly striking a Jewish man.

By KAREN VELIE

Central Coast deputies arrested a college professor and pro-Palestine protestor Thursday morning on an involuntary manslaughter charge for the death of a Jewish protester. Loay Alnaji’s bails is set at $1 million.

On Nov. 5, there were pro-Palestinian demonstrators on one side of the intersection of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards in Ventura County and Israel supporters on the other side. Alnaji, 50, allegedly attacked 69-year-old Paul Kessler, hitting him in the head with a bullhorn. A day later, Kessler died from his injuries.

Video footage posted on social media shows Kessler lying on the ground with blood pouring from his head after the attack.

Paul Kessler lying injured on the ground.

Kessler’s autopsy revealed he’d been hit in the face and died after hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk.

Alnaji works as a professor in the computer science department at Moorpark College.


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Well he certainly should be prosecuted and I pray for the victim but have to say,, I’m 65 years old and in my younger days pretty well able to defend myself. I can’t imagine joining a protest in today’s world. Not when “peaceful protests” include burning buildings and assaulting others. It’s just not wise to put ourselves in harms way. The college professor has a long time to contemplate his hatred now. His stay in prison will not be pleasant. Whatever happens to him there is well deserved.


6

Professor of hate . Radicalizing the students to hate family & country . Only in America .


22

Both sides showed up looking for a fight, so this is hardly surprising.


-32

Hate crime????


30

Yes. Hate crime. One man has a book of life, that emphasis peace and love to all. The other has a book of life, that demands death to the Jewish people, and all others who do not believe the same book.


One was physically attacked by the other. This is not a question.


2

Involuntary manslaughter after intentionally cracking someone in the head with a weapon. You got off easy son.


44

Like most college professors, Loay Alnaj is out of touch with reality. Anybody who supports islamic terrorism has blood stained hands.


44

For me, the Central Coast stops at the southern Santa Barbara County line. Certainly this was an accident but now we have the category of hate crime so his goose is cooked. There needs to be a category for anti U.S.A. so we can call foreign aid treasonous when spent to blow up other countries, requiring to fund that re-construction, etc. We need to fix our country so we don’t have to clean house only when we company, like San Francisco did for this week. Also, bashing our 2nd amendment while we arm other countries to shoot at each other. I did not like my mom using the word stupid but as she learned English this was the easiest word for such nonsense. She certainly did not rant for minutes to turn stupid into a palatable mitigation.


-30

Yeah, he “accidentally” smashed him in the face with a bullhorn. Right.


43

SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura have been the “Tri-counties” since, well, ever.


2