Suspect in California Jewish protester's death cooperating with police
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[November 08, 2023]
By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) - A suspect in the death of a Jewish man who fell and hit his
head during dual pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests in California
had called 911 to report the fall and waited at the scene and answered
investigators' questions, authorities said on Tuesday.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a press conference that the
unnamed person, the only suspect so far, has not been arrested.
Investigators are seeking video and photos from the public to help them
learn what caused Paul Kessler, 69, to fall and hit his head during
Sunday protests in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles (65 km) west of Los
Angeles.
"What exactly transpired prior to Mr. Kessler falling backward isn't
crystal clear right now," Fryhoff said.
Kessler's death has been ruled a homicide by medical examiners, with the
cause of death listed as blunt force trauma to his head. Officials
emphasized that a death being ruled a homicide means that another person
was involved, but does not indicate if anything criminal took place.
Authorities have not ruled out that other people were involved.
Kessler was conscious when taken to the hospital and spoke with
investigators while there, the sheriff said. He declined to say what
Kessler told officers.
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Witnesses have provided conflicting accounts about who was the aggressor
in the incident, the sheriff said. The medical examiners office said
Kessler had non-lethal injuries to the left side of his face, which
could indicate he was hit before falling, but that it was not certain
that was the case.
U.S. officials and civil rights groups have warned of increased threats
against Jews, Muslims and Arab Americans following the Oct. 7 attack by
the Palestinian militant group Hamas in which Israel says 1,400 were
killed and more than 240 taken hostage, and the ensuing Israeli
bombardment of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where Palestinian health
authorities say more than 10,000 people have been killed.
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![](../images/110823PIX/news_a39.jpg)
Anat Josef, from Agoura synagogue arranges flowers at the location
of the alleged assault Sunday on Paul Kessler in Thousand Oaks,
California, U.S., November 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Nov/08/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_110623.jpg)
Fryhoff said his deputies have increased patrols around mosques and
synagogues because of Kessler's death.
Last month, an Illinois man was charged with hate crimes for
stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother in
an attack that officials said targeted them for their religion in a
response to the war.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles identified the victim
at Sunday's protest as a Jewish man and said the incident was the
fourth act of antisemitic violence in the Los Angeles area this
year, and the second since Oct. 7.
The dual protests in Thousand Oaks on Sunday drew about 100 people
from each side, Fryhoff said, and no other incidents were reported.
Law enforcement occasionally drove by the scene of the protest prior
to Kessler's fall and saw nothing that alarmed them, he added.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, the leader of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Los Angeles, citing conversations with local government officials,
earlier said a pro-Palestinian protester had struck the victim on
the head with a megaphone. Fryhoff said he could not confirm that
took place, but that it was possible.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a civil rights group, expressed grief on Monday over what
it called a "tragic and shocking loss," while also asking people to
"refrain from jumping to conclusions" or "sensationalizing such a
tragedy for political gains."
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Additional
reporting by Daniel Trotta in California; editing by Donna Bryson
and Bill Berkrot)
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