A 69-year-old Jewish man, Paul Kessler, was murdered Sunday when a pro-Hamas agitator attacked him during a demonstration in Thousand Oaks, California. According to an eyewitness who spoke to RedState on condition of anonymity due to fears for their family's safety, it appeared that Kessler was targeted by members of the pro-Hamas group who had protested at the same corner the Sunday prior, possibly because police were called at that time after one of the pro-Hamas agitators brandished a gun.
The man holding the flag in the photo above allegedly lifted up his shirt to show that he had a pistol in his waistband during the October 29 protest at the same corner (Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard, just north of the 101 Freeway). Police were called to the scene, but the man left before they arrived.
This Instagram video, which was published October 30, shows the tone of that event, which carried over to the day Kessler was attacked and killed.
During the November 5 protest, eyewitnesses say that this man led an older gentleman over to the corner with the Shell station (across from where the bulk of the pro-Hamas faction were located), to where Mr. Kessler was, as if he was pointing Kessler out to the older gentleman.
The pro-Hamas faction were located on the southwest corner of the intersection, in front of Paul Martin's American Grill.
Eyewitnesses, who have shared this information and their photos and videos, say the attack happened within five minutes of the time the agitators went to the corner where Kessler was. The eyewitness doesn't have video of the moment the attack occurred, but says that the gray-haired, bearded man in khaki pants is the man who confronted Kessler then hit him in the head with the bullhorn.
In this video, a different witness tells law enforcement that Kessler was "decked" but a Hamas supporter tells officers that Kessler "slipped."
This video is long, but shows the suspect speaking to police after Kessler is taken away in the ambulance. The protesters continue to chant; at the 3:45 mark you hear, "You will burn in hell; Israel will burn in hell."
In this video, at 2:45, you can hear law enforcement asking the suspect, "So you tried to hit his phone"?
In this video you can hear the pro-Hamas agitators' blatant antisemitism at the :45 mark: "Hitler didn't want you, Hitler didn't want you, Hitler didn't want you, Hitler should've smashed you."
At a press conference Tuesday morning, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff reported that a search warrant was executed at the suspect's home in Moorpark, California, about ten miles from the scene of the protest. The suspect was questioned further, but has not been arrested at this time. Fryhoff said that there is a very active investigation ongoing, and that they've received conflicting statements from witnesses, which isn't surprising given what we've already seen on video here. He said that Kessler's death is being investigated as a homicide, and that a hate crime designation has not been ruled out.
Also at the press conference Dr. Christopher Young, the Ventura County Chief Medical Examiner, said that when Kessler arrived at Los Robles Regional Hospital on Sunday afternoon a CT scan was performed that revealed intracranial bleeding, and that Kessler continued to deteriorate until he died very early Monday morning.
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