Overview
- The Moorpark professor pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious injury, admitting he used a megaphone as a weapon and that the victim was particularly vulnerable.
- The court has indicated it will likely impose formal probation with up to 365 days in county jail, even though the convictions carry a maximum of four years in state prison.
- Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko opposes the indicated sentence and seeks a four‑year prison term, a position shared by Kessler’s family.
- Prosecutors presented phone video and 18 witnesses at a May 2024 hearing, including the medical examiner who concluded Kessler died from blunt force trauma caused by a megaphone strike and a subsequent fall.
- Kessler, 69, was injured during dueling protests on Nov. 5, 2023, at Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards, and Alnaji remains free on $50,000 bail pending the June 25 sentencing.