Man jailed for one year over 2023 death of Jewish protester in California

WASHINGTON, July 1 - A man was sentenced to one year in prison over the late 2023 death of a Jewish man during an altercation in California between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail and two years of felony probation for the November 2023 death of Paul Kessler, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement on Wednesday.

Alnaji pleaded guilty in May to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury, according to prosecutors.

Alnaji escalated a verbal altercation with Kessler to a physical confrontation in November 2023 while both were protesting in California, according to prosecutors.

The two men were taking part in opposing pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli street rallies in Thousand Oaks, about 35 miles (55 km) west of Los Angeles.

Alnaji struck Kessler in the head with a megaphone, causing Kessler to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement, prosecutors said, adding Alnaji stayed at the scene, called 911 and provided investigators with a statement.

Kessler subsequently died from injuries sustained during the incident. Alnaji was taken into custody days later and charged with causing Kessler's death.

Prosecutors argued for a state prison sentence and objected to the court's decision to impose one year of jail and probation.

Rights advocates have warned about heightened threats to American Jews, Muslims and Arabs since the start of U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza after Hamas' October 2023 attack.

Fatal incidents since then have raised alarm.

They include a 2023 deadly stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child in Illinois whose killer was sentenced to 53 years in prison and died in custody; a 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five dead, including two teenage suspects; a 2025 fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington; and a 2025 Colorado fire-bomb attack that left one woman dead and in which the attacker was sentenced to life in prison. REUTERS