As expected, Muslim former college professor Loay Alnaji was sentenced to one year in county jail and 24 months of probation after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paul Kessler back in November 2023.
Kessler was counterprotesting in support of Israel on a corner diagonal from where Alnaji and his friends from the Islamic Society of Simi Valley had organized a pro-Hamas rally, and within 15 minutes of his arrival, Alnaji and Nashat Mshaiel crossed two streets to confront him. Shortly after, Alnaji struck Kessler in the head with a metal bullhorn, causing him to fall backward and fracture his skull.
Witnesses said Alnaji was the aggressor and that "he decked [Kessler]."
Another witness statement - the wife of the man quoted above.
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) June 29, 2026
"We were standing here and they came over and, you know..."
What happened? "Oh, he [Alnaji] decked him."
Who did the first like push or hit? "They were at each other, they were yelling, and he decked him. He came… pic.twitter.com/NdPMjV3gpN
Alnaji entered an open guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter and battery with serious bodily injury, with special circumstances, back in May, after Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan indicated the sentence he'd impose. Until that time Alnaji had been on paid leave from his position as a computer science professor at Moorpark College, part of the Ventura County Community College District, but his employment was terminated after he entered the guilty plea.
At the time charges were filed in November 2023, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said his office charged Alnaji with involuntary manslaughter instead of voluntary manslaughter because, "we received no evidence, no statements, no information whatsoever that the Defendant arrived at that intersection...with the intent to kill, harm, or injure anyone." He further said that while hate crime charges hadn't been filed at that time, "We're investigating whether or not the acts, the impact, the force, was accompanied by specific hate speech, specific statements or words that demonstrate an antipathy, a hatred towards a specific group. We don't have that at this point."
Hate Crime Not Ruled Out in Death of Jewish Protester Paul Kessler, Ventura County DA Says
EXCLUSIVE: New Bodycam Video From Paul Kessler Murder Scene Contradicts Defense's Claims
However, videos published by RedState in November 2023 and recently, and photos and witness statements, all of which were given to the prosecution in 2023, reveal that Kessler and his friend Jon Oswaks had a confrontation with Mshaiel and other ISSV members the week prior, that Mshaiel took Alnaji over to where Kessler was to continue that confrontation, and that Mshaiel and other ISSV members immediately started shouting antisemitic chants after Kessler was loaded into the ambulance.
Almost forgot this one. When Mamdouh Elalami picked up the murder weapon as Kessler was still being loaded into the ambulance and started antisemitic chants, he was asked to show some respect. Elalami and these clowns below (one ISSV member, one obvious Antifa, and ISSV… pic.twitter.com/aMH5sYZeLJ
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) June 30, 2026
An attorney who was present in the courtroom during the sentencing said that Judge Malan, addressing the controversy over the length of the sentence, said that had the DA's office filed a hate crime charge or a charge of voluntary manslaughter, a lengthier sentence would be on the table, but he was dealing with the charges that were filed.
More than 100 letters were submitted to Malan in opposition to the proposed sentence, from community members at large and by Kessler's friends and family. Nasarenko's office said:
Paul Kessler was a 69-year-old retired man whose life was centered on family and community. His hobbies included flying as an amateur pilot, going to the gym, walking in his neighborhood, and staying informed about current events. Victim impact statements were submitted prior to the sentencing hearing for the court to read, including a statement from Mr. 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. “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.”
The full bodycam videos and witness statements RedState reviewed have recently been sent to the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to be reviewed for potential federal hate crime charges.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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