A Southern California man who attended a pro-Palestinian rally is under investigation for a confrontation that led to the death of an elderly Jewish man, but no arrests have been made in what authorities are probing as a possible hate crime.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said the suspect, a 50-year-old Moorpark resident, called 911 and cooperated with deputies arriving to treat Paul Kessler, 69, who died from head injuries sustained in a fall at Sunday’s dueling Israel-Palestinian demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, a suburb about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
“Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime and this is being investigated as a homicide,” Sheriff Fryhoff said at a press conference Tuesday.
Detectives searched the home of the suspect Monday as officers briefly detained him at a traffic stop in Simi Valley. The sheriff declined to comment on the results of the search.
Sheriff Fryhoff said there was an “interaction” between the two men, but what caused Mr. Kessler to fall backward onto the sidewalk “isn’t crystal clear right now,” given the conflicting accounts given by witnesses at the scene.
“These witnesses provided conflicting statements about what the altercation and who the aggressor was,” Sheriff Fryhoff said Tuesday. “Some of the witnesses were pro-Palestine while others were pro-Israel.”
SEE ALSO: Elderly Jewish man dies of head injury after clash with pro-Palestinian protester
The dueling protests called Freedom for Palestine and We Are Pro-Israel drew a combined 75-100 protesters to the busy intersection of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards in Westlake Village, a community within Thousand Oaks.
Dr. Christopher Young, Ventura County chief medical examiner, said the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head and the manner of death was homicide, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a crime was committed.
“It’s simply stating that the death occurred at the hands of another person, or the actions of another person contributed to the death of a person,” Dr. Young said.
Funeral services for Mr. Kessler, a resident of Thousand Oaks, were scheduled for Tuesday.
Images posted on social media showed him wearing a hat and sunglasses at the protest, and holding an Israeli flag.
“Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime and this is being investigated as a homicide.”
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2023
— Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff on a 69-year-old Jewish man who died following an altercation at dueling pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations in California pic.twitter.com/Ygtag80E72
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said the victim was struck by a megaphone in the face, which police have not verified. The sheriff said Mr. Kessler was found conscious and bleeding from the head and mouth.
Video from a local gas station showed the protest, but the confrontation itself is blocked by a sign.
“There was clearly an interaction between the two, but what the level of interaction is is still unclear,” Sheriff Fryhoff said.
Dr. Young said the victim had injuries on the back of his head consistent with a fall as well as non-lethal injuries on the left side of his face, which “could be consistent with a blow to the face.”
Mr. Kessler was admitted Sunday to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks with skull fractures, brain swelling, and hemorrhaging surrounding the brain. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was pronounced dead early Tuesday.
Protests sparked by the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas Palestinian militants on Israeli civilians, and Israel’s subsequent incursion into the Gaza Strip, have surged nationwide. There have been 21 protests in Ventura County alone and three at the Thousand Oaks-Westlake intersection, the sheriff said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, released a statement condemning “violence and antisemitism.”
“This death is a blow to our region at a time when tensions continue to rise worldwide,” she said. “We must redouble our efforts to ensure violence and hate are met with accountability and consequences.”
Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Los Angeles, condemned the violence and expressed sympathy in a statement for the victim’s family and the local Jewish community, but also urged residents to avoid “sensationalizing such a tragedy for political gains or spreading rumors that could unnecessarily escalate tensions that are already at an all-time high.”
Sheriff Fryhoff emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone with video or information about the altercation to contact the sheriff’s office.
“We want to make sure we have all the evidence we need if we’re going to prosecute somebody,” he said. “We’ve identified him as a suspect because as of right now, he’s the only one that we have information on that may have been involved in an interaction with our victim. That doesn’t mean there aren’t others.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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