Police have arrested a pro-Palestinian California college professor in the death of Jewish man Paul Kessler at concurrent pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Nov. 5.
Loay Alnaji, 50, was taken into custody on Thursday, charged with involuntary manslaughter and jailed on $1,000,000 bail, per a Ventura County Sheriff’s Department press release.
Investigators with the department determined that Alnaji caused Kessler, a 69-year-old pro-Israel protester, to knock his head onto the concrete when he fell, which resulted in brain hemorrhaging that would kill him hours later in the hospital.
Although police previously obtained a warrant to search Alnaji’s vehicle and home in Moorpark on Nov. 6, detaining the then-suspect for about two hours, they had insufficient evidence to carry out an arrest.
PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTER ‘TRIED TO BAIT’ ELDERLY JEWISH MAN BEFORE FATAL ALTERCATION, WITNESS SAYS
It is unclear what new evidence led to Alnaji’s arrest. In the weeks preceding his arrest, some witnesses have told Fox News Digital that the pro-Palestinian protester struck Kessler with his megaphone. An autopsy carried out by Ventura County Medical Examiner Christopher Young showed minor abrasions to the left side of Kessler’s mouth in addition to the brain swelling and bruising that killed him.
