Pro-Palestinian protester pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in death of Jewish man

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) - A former Southern California college professor has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of a Jewish counterprotester during demonstrations in 2023 over the Israel-Hamas war.

Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 53, was accused of striking Paul Kessler with a megaphone in November 2023 during a confrontation at an event that started as a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles.

Kessler was among a group of pro-Israel demonstrators who showed up at the event that was advertised as a peaceful gathering, officials said. After being struck, Kessler fell backward and struck his head on the pavement. He died the next day at a hospital. He was 69.

Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another person.

Alnaji, a former professor of computer science at Moorpark College, at the time stayed at the scene and told deputies he had called 911.

He also admitted to a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury and to aggravating factors that he used a weapon and that the victim was particularly vulnerable, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Alnaji's lawyer, Ron Bamieh, said he and his client have both received multiple death threats and Alnaji feared coverage of the trial could endanger his family further. Alnaji has been out after posting $50,000 bail.

The court has told Alnaji to expect to spend time in jail and then be put on probation, Bamieh said. He would likely serve about six months with good behavior, he added. The maximum sentence for the charges is up to four years in prison.

Bamieh said the brief time in jail followed by probation has been the norm for cases in which the defendant was not the aggressor in a fight that led to death.

Prosecutors have objected to that.

"Alnaji should be sentenced to prison for his violent behavior, and our office strongly objects to any lesser sentence," District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement. "While no amount of punishment will ever fully account for the Kessler family loss, a prison commitment underscores the severity of this crime and will deter others from committing similar acts of violence."

Alnaji is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.