Moorpark Protester Loay Alnaji Sentenced For 2023 Killing of Opposing Protester Paul Kessler

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, a Moorpark man facing charges related to the death of opposing protester Paul Kessler, was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail and two years of felony probation this week.

Alnaji initially pled not guilty to felony charges of battery causing serious injury and manslaughter, but eventually pleaded guilty to those charged counts in May of this year.

The local prosecutor's office argued for a state prison sentence and objected to the the courts sentencing decision noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release Tuesday.

"Mr. Kessler lost his life in a violent attack that took him from his family and his wife of 43 years,"
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko argued. "Given the circumstances of this case and the death that resulted, we believe a state prison commitment was the appropriate and just sentence."

During dueling protests on the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard in Thousand Oaks on November 5, 2023, Alnaji and an opposing protester, 69-year-old Paul Kessler, escalated their disagreement into a verbal altercation and then a physical one.

Alnaji hit Kessler in the head with a megaphone which caused the 69-year-old to fall and hit his head on the pavement.

During a preliminary hearing in May of last year, video and audio evidence from Kessler's cell phone was presented as well as testimony from Ventura County Medical Examiner Dr. Othon Mena stating that Kessler died from blunt force trauma caused by both a megaphone and subsequent fall to the pavement.

Kessler later died from his injuries sustained during the incident and his widow was one of multiple victim impact statements submitted to the court during the trial.

"There are no words to describe the pain of losing a husband in such a sudden and violent way,"
shared Kessler's widow in her victim impact statement. "The grief is relentless. The silence in our house, the absence of his voice, his companionship, his love and the future we had planned together are losses I carry with me every day."

Alnaji called 9-1-1 from the scene and remained there while cooperating with investigators.

Days later, Alnaji was taken into custody and charged in connection with Kessler's death.