A suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of a Jewish man in California who died from injuries sustained while counterprotesting a pro-Palestine demonstration, authorities said.
Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, has been taken into custody Wednesday in Moorpark in connection to the death of Paul Kessler, who was involved in a scuffle with pro-Palestinian protestors, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced.
He will be booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility on involuntary manslaughter charges, authorities said.
Bail for Alnaji has been set at $1,000,000.
Kessler – who was spotted waving an Israeli flag just moments before the incident – suffered a head injury in the altercation.
He was later seen lying on the pavement while two people, including a woman wearing a “Free Palestine” jacket, came to his aid, footage of the incident showed.
Read Related Also: Manchin: If Trump is President Again, “He Will Destroy Democracy in America.”
An autopsy determined his manner of death was a homicide, and the cause of death was a blunt force head injury, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a rabbi who spoke to witnesses claimed Kessler was struck with a megaphone just before his fall.
Moshe Bryski, a rabbi from Chabad of Agoura Hills, told The Post Tuesday that Kessler’s death was “a tragedy.”
“You don’t expect people to go to a rally and not come home,” he said.
Kessler’s wife was “in a state of total shock” when he called, the rabbi added.
“He was not a closet Zionist — he wore it like a badge of honor. He was a proud Jew and proud Israel supporter,” family friend Justin Cohen told The Post of the victim.
