VENTURA, Calif. – Today, November 17, 2023, Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji (DOB 05/06/73), of Moorpark, pled not guilty at arraignment to one felony count of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count of battery causing serious bodily injury. Alnaji also denied the special allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury.

Alnaji is accused of engaging in a physical confrontation with the victim, Paul Kessler, on November 5, 2023, while both were protesting on the corner of Thousand Oaks Blvd. and Westlake Blvd., in Thousand Oaks. Mr. Kessler subsequently died from injuries sustained during the incident.

Earlier today, District Attorney Erik Nasarenko and Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff held a news conference discussing the arrest of Alnaji and the felony complaint filed today in Ventura County Superior Court.

“In filing these charges, we relied upon new physical and forensic evidence as well as findings regarding the injuries to the left side of Paul Kessler’s face,” District Attorney Nasarenko said during the news conference.

A complete recording of the news conference is available here: https://vimeo.com/884988975.

Alnaji is scheduled to make his next court appearance on November 29, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 22 of the Ventura County Superior Court. A preliminary hearing date has been set for December 4, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. also in courtroom 22. Alnaji is currently in custody with bail now set at $50,000.