A Moorpark professor has pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury in the death of a Jewish man at a protest in Thousand Oaks.
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, changed his plea on Tuesday, admitting to using a weapon and inflicting great bodily injury on Paul Kessler, 69, who died the following day.
The incident occurred during a protest on November 2023, where Alnaji, a computer science professor at Moorpark College, had joined in support of Palestinians, while Kessler attended as a counterprotester supporting Israel.
Alnaji's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25, and he remains out of custody after posting $50,000 bail. The district attorney's office has indicated that Alnaji may avoid state prison time, sparking pushback from the Jewish community and law enforcement officials.