Demonstrator to stand trial in the death of Jewish man at November Israel-Hamas war-related protest
A judge in California ruled that a pro-Palestinian demonstrator will stand trial in the death of a Jewish man who was counter-protesting on a street in Thousand Oaks last year.
Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man, died from blunt-force head trauma following a confrontation with a counterprotester, amid simultaneous pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations last November, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office previously said. Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji is accused of striking Paul Kessler with a megaphone, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner ruled that Kessler died from blunt force trauma caused by the blow from the megaphone and the subsequent fall.
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Alnaji was charged in November with involuntary manslaughter, battery causing serious bodily injury and special allegations of personally inflicting great bodily injury. At his arraignment last fall, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A Ventura County Superior Court judge decided that Alnaji would face trial after a recent two-day preliminary hearing that saw 18 witnesses testify.
An attorney for Alnaji, Ron Bamieh, told ABC News they decided not to put on a defense because the burden of proof is so low in a preliminary hearing. He said the testimony showed that eyewitnesses were "unreliable" and that the court learned that the victim had a history of falling due to a brain tumor.
Bamieh said it was also revealed that Kessler did not immediately fall after being hit with the bullhorn, but stood for approximately five seconds before fainting and collapsing.
"The fainting was consistent with his previous history of falling," Bamieh said.
Bamieh said Alnaji plans to plead not guilty at his arraignment and that they hope to resolve the case before it heads to trial.
"Our hope is that the district attorney realizes this is not a political case, and the facts do not justify the charges that they are seeking," Bamieh said. "If not, then a jury will help us do that."
Authorities are continuing to investigate. The Ventura County DA's office said it has not found evidence to support a hate crime.
Alnaji was released on $50,000 bail.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of four years in prison.
ABC News' Alex Stone and Jolie Lash contributed to this report.
Demonstrator to stand trial in the death of Jewish man at November Israel-Hamas war-related protest originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
