Man sentenced for 2023 death at a Free Palestine rally in Thousand Oaks

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred A Moorpark man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of a protester at a Free Palestine demonstration in 2023 was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation, according to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.The charges against Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, of Moorpark stemmed from a November 2023 protest in Thousand Oaks where Alnaji was accused of hitting Paul Kessler on the head with a megaphone, causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement.Alnaji will begin serving his one-year prison term Aug.7 and will get jail-time credit for two days previously served, authorities said.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office had called for a state prison sentence in the case “and objected to the court’s decision to impose one year of jail and probation,” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.During the sentencing hearing, victim impact statements were read, including one from Kessler’s widow.“There are no words to describe the pain of losing a husband in such a sudden and violent way,” his widow wrote.

Her quote was included in the district attorney’s statement, but she was not identified.California The lawsuit comes a week after an arbitrator ordered the university to reinstate the tenured professor.In May, Alnaji pleaded guilty to charges of felony, involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury.

He also admitted to “a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, along with aggravating factors that he used a weapon and that the victim was particularly vulnerable,” authorities said.The incident began when Alnaji joined a rally on the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards in support of Palestinians, while Kessler had attended a counter protest in sup...