A Ventura County man pled not guilty to battery and involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from the death of a demonstrator in Thousand Oaks.
Loay Alnaji was in court Friday afternoon to face the charges.
Alnaji was a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who had what authorities called a confrontation with pro-Israeli demonstrator Paul Kessler during opposing rallies November 5 in Thousand Oaks. Kessler's head hit the ground. The 69-year-old Thousand Oaks man died a few hours later.
Earlier in the day, Ventura County's Sheriff and District Attorney held a news conference to talk about the case. They say they talked to 60 witnesses, and looked at hundreds of pieces of evidence.
"Our task was to search for the truth, and to achieve clarity in this case, and that is what we've done," said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
He talked about what led to the decision to file battery, and involuntary manslaughter charges against a Moorpark man following the death of a Jewish demonstrator.
"We were able to take video, as well as digital footage, put it together, and establish a clear sequence of events leading up to the confrontation," said the DA.
But, Nasarenko said there was additional evidence which led to the decision.
"We relied upon new physical and forensic evidence, as well as findings regarding injuries to the left side of Paul Kessler's face,"
But, the DA also emphasized that there was no evidence that the confrontation was planned. He said that's why involuntary manslaughter instead of murder charges were filed.
The DA isn’t talking about the specifics of the case. He said no hate crime charges have been filed, but isn't ruling out the possibility.
