Jordanian, Loay Alnaji (r) shows satisfaction plea-deal negotiated by Palestinian-American attorney, Ron Bamieh, inside a courtroom in Ventura County Superior Court after Judge Derek Malan (a former co-worker of Mr. Bamieh) sentenced him to just one year in jail and two years of probation on June 30, 2026. Alnaji pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish man at a primarily Muslim, anti-Israel protest in Thousand Oaks in November 2023. (Photo: Juan Carlo -The V.C. STAR)
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, a Jordanian Muslim naturalized U.S. citizen born in 1973, struck Los Angeleno, Paul Kessler in the head with a megaphone during an anti-Israel demonstration on November 5, 2023. Kessler, 69, fell, suffered blunt force trauma, and died 9–10 hours later. Alnaji's combativeness was exceeded by a number of his fellow agitators from the Islamic Society of Simi Valley.
On June 30, 2026, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan (who worked at the District Attorney's office for two years when Ron Bamieh did) negotiated with Mr. Bamieh a guilty-plea (which saved Alnaji a jury trial) for one year in county jail and two years of felony probation for the killing — a lenient outcome that has sparked outrage from prosecutors and Kessler’s family.
The sentence followed Alnaji’s guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter and battery with enhancements. Prosecutors and the Kessler family had pushed for prison time, arguing it failed to reflect the severity of the crime or deter future violence at protests. Yet the judge followed the plea deal framework he had indicated earlier.
As a naturalized citizen who holds both U.S. and Jordanian passports, Alnaji benefited from America’s generous immigration system. Public records do not disclose exactly when or how he naturalized — details typically buried in USCIS files. Was everything above board? Did he fully disclose his background, affiliations, or views during the process?
Given the circumstances of this case, concerned Americans have every right to ask - how did America provide residency (and often citizenship) to Muslim immigrants who bear religious intolerance for non-Muslims, particularly Jewish? Mideast countries bordering Israel top the ADL's list of most antisemitic countries in the world - with Palestinians and Jordanians atop the list.
When did Alnaji become a U.S. citizen?
What did his naturalization application and interview reveal?
Were there any red flags that should have been scrutinized more closely?
Does Paul Kessler's killer, Loay Alnaji's short sentence fit the crime? L.A criminal defense attorney James Blatt opines how he believes it falls short.
Calls for Review: The Kessler family, pro-Israel advocates, and citizens committed to the rule of law should consider:
Filing detailed tips with USCIS regarding potential issues in the naturalization process.
Encouraging congressional oversight into how such cases are handled.
Supporting broader efforts to ensure naturalization is granted — and retained — only for those who truly embrace American values.
Paul Kessler
Paul Kessler stood up for Israel, American, and Jewish safety just weeks after the Palestinians inflicted the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Kessler's death should not be minimized by a light sentence or forgotten in debates about citizenship accountability.
America must ensure its immigration system does not reward those who bring violence to our streets. The Alnaji case is a stark reminder why rigorous vetting — and mechanisms like denaturalization for fraud or serious crimes — matter. What You Can Do
Contact your elected representatives and urge review of naturalization integrity.
Support victims’ rights organizations and groups tracking antisemitic incidents.
Share verified facts about the case to counter narratives that downplay the killing.
We will continue following this story and related issues of justice, immigration, and security. Stay tuned for updates.
Facing Up to 4 Years, Controversial Backroom Deal would let Islamist Demonstrator Who Killed Jewish-American Paul Kessler 4-Weeks After Oct. 7 — Serve Almost No Jail Time. Update: Sentencing rescheduled moved to June 30th 9am
June 23: This is a landmark case. When Hamas invaded and massacred Israelis on October 7, 2023, the United States saw more than 12,000 anti-Israel protests in the following months. On November 5, 2023 — just 29 days later — Loay Alnaji, who had come from the Islamic Society of Simi Valley with other members, struck and killed 69-year-old Paul Kessler for the simple act of holding an Israeli flag at a “Justice for Palestine” protest in Thousand Oaks.
Paul Kessler holding the Israeli flag at the protest.
Just 29 days after the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, the Islamic Society of Simi Valley — from an area with too few Jews to annoy locally — deliberately returned to the more Jewish neighborhood of Thousand Oaks where they antagonized residents and incited people against their Jewish neighbors. It was during that protest that Loay Alnaji struck Paul Kessler in the face with a megaphone. The coroner found welt marks on Kessler’s face consistent with the blow. Mr. Kessler fell, suffered fatal head trauma, and died the next day.
Loay Alnaji, carrying the bullhorn he used to strike Paul Kessler, accompanied by Nashat Mshaiel from the Islamic Society of Simi Valley.
The case saw numerous continuances both before and after the death of original presiding Judge Ryan Wright in September 2025. Following Wright’s death, the case was briefly handled by Supervising Judge Anthony Sabo. In March 2026, it was reassigned to Judge Derek Malan, who had previously served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Ventura County DA’s Office during the same period as defense attorney Ron Bamieh.
On May 5, 2026, Alnaji entered a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter. According to his attorney Ron Bamieh, Judge Derek Malan offered the plea deal — up to 365 days in county jail plus 3 years formal probation — after several private meetings with the defense attorney alone. Bamieh told reporters that Judge Malan had characterized the killing as nothing more than “two old guys had a dispute and an accident happened.”
Private meetings between a judge and only one side in a criminal case are highly unusual and generally considered inappropriate under California judicial ethics rules. Canon 3B(7) strongly discourages ex parte communications — discussions about a pending case with only one party (in this instance, only the defense) while excluding the prosecutor and the victim’s family. Canon 3E further requires a judge to disqualify himself if there is a reasonable basis for the public to question his impartiality. Judge Malan’s own reported characterization of this killing as nothing more than “two old guys had a dispute and an accident happened” — made after multiple private meetings with only the defense attorney and over the strong objections of the District Attorney and the victim’s family — significantly heightens the appearance of potential bias or favoritism.
This approach bypassed normal protocol in which plea negotiations are conducted by the District Attorney with input from the victim’s family. The Ventura County DA’s office and Paul Kessler’s family strongly objected, yet their position was overruled. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2026.
This is the predictable outcome of a system that has repeatedly refused to treat antisemitic violence with the seriousness it deserves.
Look at the clear pattern of antisemitic crimes inflicted on Jewish people in Los Angeles in recent years:
UCLA Encampment (Spring 2024): Over 200 arrests, but the only two people actually prosecuted were Jewish pro-Israel counter-protesters.
2020 BLM attacks on Jewish stores (Beverly Blvd, Fairfax Blvd, Pico Blvd): Numerous Jewish-owned businesses were smashed, looted, and robbed, many with explicit antisemitic targeting. Virtually zero meaningful prosecutions or sentences.
Adas Torah Synagogue riot (June 2024): Muslims rioted and battered Jews outside the synagogue. Zero reported prosecutions or sentences for the attackers.
Yet in Paul Kessler’s case — the first prominent killing of a Jewish-American by a Muslim anti-Israel demonstrator — it was not merely “an accident between two old guys.” The eyewitnesses tell a very different story.
Jon Oswaks (eyewitness, standing with Rabbi Mark Blazer): “They tried with me first… they stalked us before this happened… they had it out for you 100%. Paul was holding his cell phone when Alnaji punched him with a megaphone… it was shown in court that it wasn’t self-defense.”
Hal Eisner, KTTV (2023): “Paul Kessler was murdered for the simple act of carrying an Israeli flag.” A student at the scene also reported hearing: “we need to kill you all… you’re not belonging here.”
Rabbi Mark Blazer at the 1-year vigil (Nov 2024): “...on the anniversary of his murder we're calling on the DA in Ventura County... to make sure that those who perpetrated this act of hate, this act of violence are brought to Justice. It’s incumbent on our community to exercise Justice, to practice mercy and Justice, to help create peace, to help create shalom.”
Dor Shachar (Gaza-raised, now Jewish): “Muhammad came with the Quran… he slaughtered children, cut off their heads… exactly what he did on October 7… The Jew and the Nazarene — cut him into tiny pieces… The Jews in Gaza gave them money and treated them in hospitals… and on October 7 they slaughtered them.”
Rabbi Zvi Block (sitting with Jonathan Oswaks): “One man in a rage picked up an instrument and struck another man, and that striking caused his death… Our judicial system is insane if it gives only four years. This man should sit many years. This is a model case for Muslims across the world to see what Jews will do and what the court will do. I want 500 Jews in front of that courthouse on the sentencing day. Let the media take notice.”
Never Again is not a slogan — it is a command. If we allow this targeted killing of a Jewish man holding an Israeli flag to be reduced to a mere “accident,” with the killer potentially serving only a tiny fraction of an already lenient sentence while he continues to collect a paycheck, we betray Paul Kessler and send a clear message that Jewish lives are disposable.
Paul Kessler’s blood cries out from the ground in Thousand Oaks. Let it not cry in vain.
Where to Write This Week
Priority
Where to Send
Why It Matters
Contact Details
Highest
Presiding Judge of the Ventura County Superior Court
Can review how Judge Malan was assigned to the case and the appropriateness of the private meetings with defense attorney Ron Bamieh
Ventura County Superior Court
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009 Attn: Presiding Judge
High
Ventura County Probation Agency
They prepare the Pre-Sentence Report that Judge Malan will rely on when deciding the actual jail time
Because sentencing is scheduled for TuesPday, June 30 at 9am, letters sent this week will have limited but still symbolic value for influencing the final sentence.
However, letters requesting an investigation to the Presiding Judge have value even after the sentencing. They create a public record, pressure for transparency on the process, and can prompt a review of the judicial assignment and private meetings.
Sample Letter to Presiding Judge Guasco – Request for Review
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Email]
[Phone]
[Date]
Hon. Matthew P. Guasco, Presiding Judge
Ventura County Superior Court
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009
Re: People v. Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji – Request for Review of Judicial Assignment and Conduct
Dear Presiding Judge Guasco,
I am writing regarding the handling of the above high-profile case.
Judge Derek Malan and defense attorney Ron Bamieh previously served as Deputy District Attorneys in the Ventura County DA’s Office during overlapping periods. After Bamieh entered private practice, Judge Malan was assigned to this case. It has been reported that Judge Malan held several private meetings with Mr. Bamieh alone before offering a lenient plea deal over the objections of the District Attorney and the victim’s family.
These circumstances raise a reasonable question about impartiality under Canon 3E of the California Code of Judicial Ethics. I respectfully request that your office review the assignment of this case and the appropriateness of the private meetings.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
Sample Letter to Judge Malan – Demand Harsher Sentence
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Email]
[Phone]
[Date]
Honorable Derek D. Malan
Ventura County Superior Court
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009
Re: People v. Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji – Sentencing June 25, 2026
Dear Judge Malan,
I am writing about the upcoming sentencing of Loay Alnaji in the killing of Paul Kessler.
Paul Kessler was the first Jewish-American killed by a Muslim anti-Israel protester after October 7, 2023. Given the seriousness of this crime, I respectfully urge you to impose the maximum sentence possible under the plea agreement.
A lenient outcome in this landmark case would send a dangerous message that attacks on Jewish Americans will not be treated seriously.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
Interviews with Xi Van Fleet (American Freedom Alliance, Los Angeles, March 31, 2025) and Mrs. Li Schoolland (FreedomFest 2025) · Speech by Dr. Ming Wang (Anthem Film Festival at FreedomFest). Published June 4, 2026
Today is June 4th. In most of the world, that date means very little. In China, it means so much that the government has banned the numbers six and four from appearing together on the internet. The anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre — when the People's Liberation Army rolled tanks over unarmed students demanding democracy — is not merely a historical wound. It is, as two Chinese-American women explained in separate interviews, a template: a window into exactly how the Chinese Communist Party treats inconvenient truths, inconvenient people, and inconvenient nations.
Xi Van Fleet is used to being heard. In 2021, a two-minute speech she delivered to a Virginia school board against Critical Race Theory went viral, drawing comparisons between Mao's Cultural Revolution and America's woke movement. Her first book, Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning, became a conservative bestseller. Her follow-up — co-written with renowned Chinese dissident Yu Jie — goes further and deeper, tracing how American elites, over more than a century, helped build the very monster that now threatens them.
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Made in America — Xi Van Fleet & Yu Jie
The untold story of how misguided U.S. elites transformed China from a communist wasteland into a global superpower — at America's expense. Available wherever books are sold, including Amazon.
Xi van Fleet at American Freedom Alliance event
"It's titled Made in America," Van Fleet explained at the American Freedom Alliance event in Los Angeles. "The subtitle — The Hidden History of How the U.S. Enabled Communist China and Created Our Greatest Threat — is very important." The book's central argument is that China's rise was not an accident of history or an inevitability of economics. It was built, piece by piece, with American money, technology, and willful blindness.
What Communism Is Really About
Van Fleet pushes back hard against the assumption that politicians aligned with socialist or communist ideology are simply misguided idealists who wish to improve other people's lives. That framing, she argues, fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the ideology.
"Communism is really about power. It's nothing about improving people's lives. Never. That's just a tactic — before they take over, that's how they try to convince the public. Once they get power, they will try to maintain power. That is their focus. Always."
Xi Van Fleet
American Freedom Alliance, Los Angeles
The question of whether Western politicians who embrace socialist rhetoric are true believers or cynical opportunists, she suggests, may be less important than the structural outcome: one-party dominance. "State like California is good," she said pointedly, "but they want the whole country that way."
She also addressed the fear — common among critics of the left — that communist-style authoritarianism would require the kind of mass violence that characterized Mao's China. Not necessarily, she warns. "They don't have to kill millions. As long as they're in power, they can do all sorts of things." The Cultural Revolution's 20 million deaths, she noted, were mostly inflicted not by government agents with guns, but by ordinary citizens turned against each other — a fact she finds more disturbing, not less.
The Street and the Square: A Revolutionary Parallel
When the conversation turned to the wave of protest movements that have swept American cities in recent years — from the 2020 racial justice demonstrations to the "No Kings" rallies — Mrs. Li Schoolland drew an immediate and visceral parallel.
"That reminds me of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Mao encouraged young people to go on the street and condemn everything good — knowledge, history, art, music, anything with culture or thinking or philosophy. They went on the street to condemn all that."
Mrs. Li Schoolland
FreedomFest 2025
Li Schoolland, author of "A Survivor's Story" poses with Dr. Ming Wang, author of "From Darkness to Sight" at FreedomFest '25 in Southern California
But she stopped short of despair. America's constitutional foundations, she argued, provide a buffer that China never had. "Our country is founded on the principle of liberty, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. So even though they have many demonstrations, it's not going to change anything." The critical difference, she emphasized, is that in America the demonstrators cannot become the government by force. In China, they already were.
Xi Van Fleet, meanwhile, traced the funding behind the current protest wave to sources far closer to Beijing than most Americans realize. She pointed to investigations by journalist Asra Nomani, which reportedly traced financing for recent "No Kings" protests to American tech billionaire Neville Roy Singham — a self-described Marxist living in Shanghai who reportedly funnels hundreds of millions of dollars through a network of pro-China activist groups. "That's how China is reaching out and influencing," Van Fleet said.
The Invisible Occupation
Perhaps the most startling claims in both interviews concern not geopolitical maneuvering, but the physical presence of CCP influence on American soil. Mrs. Schoolland did not mince words.
"They have Chinese police stations — not just in Chinatown, everywhere. On campuses. And they have students paid by the Chinese government coming here not to study, but to spy on other Chinese students and to make trouble."
Mrs. Li Schoolland
FreedomFest 2025
She described Chinese nationals who drove luxury cars in 2020 protest parades — not out of solidarity, she argued, but out of satisfaction. "Anything that hurts the United States, they're happy about. But they're sitting in the United States, enjoying our taxpayer-funded benefits and technology and freedom. They cannot do the same thing back in China — there's no way."
On the question of CCP influence within American political parties, Mrs. Schoolland was careful but clear. "I don't know, but I'm sure there's a lot of money going to candidates. A lot of influence." When asked whether she would be surprised to learn the CCP was behind funding current demonstrations, she replied: "I won't be surprised at all. Because that's what they want. They think the US is the enemy. They want to hurt us in every means."
Racism, Envy, and the Psychology of a Rising Power
One thread that runs through both interviews, and that rarely surfaces in mainstream discourse, is China's internal racial hierarchy. When critics of Chinese government policy are dismissed as "racist," Mrs. Schoolland offered a pointed rebuttal.
"If you talk about racist — China is the most racist nation. Chinese people will not sit next to a person with darker skin than theirs. They think those people carry some kind of disease. That's the attitude. And they look at the West with envy — envy that leads to hate. So they have to put themselves up in order to look down at other people, especially the United States."
Mrs. Li Schoolland
FreedomFest 2025
The goal, she argued, is not simply economic competition or geopolitical rivalry. "They want to be the world power — in control. But they also know they can't control America directly. What they can do is influence the politicians, the government. Bring America down enough that they rise by comparison."
CCP Chinese tanks fire upon civilian protesters in Tiananmen Square, June 4th, 1989
Veterans of South Korea at L.A. National Cemetery's Memorial Day Ceremony
How Argentinian-raised, Robert ("Bob") Johnson helps additional Allied veterans (living and deceased) who participated in defeating Nazism in France to receive Legion of Honor recognition at annual D-Day Ceremony there.
Reinhard Kargl (L) and James Kargl share thoughts on the lawn where the ceremony chairs are being collected. See the field of tombstones on the right, and association- sponsored wreaths on the left
What the experience of enlisted US Marine, Col. James Field in Vietnam has motivated him to attend Memorial Day at a National Cemetery annually (Arlington, Virginia until now) for decades. What this Marine vet-turned-Karate sensei thinks about the US impeding imperialist Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Brothers Braden and Payton Salazar of Boy Scout Troop 218 in Torrance, Calif. salute the souls of veterans (and their spouses) by name after planting a flag above their marker (photo courtesy: Axel Koester)
How Austrian-Immigrant, Reinhard Kargl, salutes US veterans (whether alive or deceased) who contributed to defeating National Socialism and Communism.
L.A. Cemetery Foundation chair, Glenn Schecter awards Luna Stolar-Calazara for helping coordinate Scouts of America who planted thousands of U.S. flags on the graves of those buried there
How Immigrant G.I. Vet Regards Immigrants and Youth Not Honoring Memorial Day.
Zoroastrian-Iranian veteran of US Army discusses his military service in Iraq and his views of whom he considers alien immigrant men who have not contribute to America through national service.
Buffalo Soldiers enactors teach history Memorial Day at Veterans Cemetery L.A. - Major A.J. Simien
The Cost of Freedom? Korean-American Chief Warrant Officer II Steve Cho, California State Guard
