A college professor has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of a Jewish protester during a proPalestine demonstration in Southern California.
Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, a computer science professor at Ventura County Community College, was arrested this Thursday, November 16th.
Police allege he tripped Paul Kessler and hit his head, causing fatal bleeding. However, the district attorney will still decide whether there is enough evidence to charge him.
Paul Kessler, 69, died in a hospital on November 6th after clashes at a proPalestinian demonstration the day before, November 5th.
Kessler was among a group of proIsrael protesters who attended the event.
In a press conference following the events, authorities said only that Kessler fell backwards and hit his head on the ground. Alnaji remained at the scene and told officers he called 911.
Paul Kessler’s autopsy revealed that he died from injuries consistent with a fall, but that the injuries also resulted from a blow to the face, leaving the cause of the fall unclear.
Police briefly held Alnaji for questioning in early November, but released him due to lack of evidence to make an arrest.
Authorities now say they have received conflicting information from witnesses on both sides about the events leading up to the crash and have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.
What new evidence authorities discovered was not disclosed.
Fox News reported that Alnaji shared a video on his nowdeleted Instagram account comparing the terrorist group Hamas to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.