Overview
- On June 30, 2026, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan sentenced Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji to one year in county jail and two years of felony probation for the 2023 death of protester Paul Kessler.
- Alnaji pleaded guilty in May 2026 to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury and admitted special allegations that he caused great bodily injury, used a weapon, and that the victim was particularly vulnerable.
- The Ventura County Medical Examiner concluded that a megaphone blow caused Kessler to fall and that blunt force head trauma from the fall led to his death.
- Prosecutors and Kessler’s family opposed the sentence and sought a state prison term as punishment and deterrence, while the defense highlighted Alnaji’s work as an educator, his cooperation at the scene, and a remorse letter.
- Alnaji will begin serving the one-year jail term on Aug. 7 with two days’ custody credit and must complete anger management courses and pay roughly $10,000 in restitution, a result that has prompted ongoing public and prosecutorial dispute and may shape how similar protest violence cases are handled locally.