Authorities investigate Moorpark man believed tied to Jewish man's death after TO protest
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add more detail.
A Moorpark man in his 50s — who has not been arrested — was identified Tuesday as a person involved in the death of a Jewish man at a protest Sunday in Thousand Oaks, authorities said.
Paul Kessler, 69, had been holding the flag of Israel near the Shell gas station at the corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards. He was one of an estimated 75 protesters at the corners of the busy intersection, the majority of them pro-Palestine, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said during a news conference Tuesday in Thousand Oaks.
At some point Sunday, Kessler had been in an altercation with another protester and fell. The sheriff's office received multiple calls of a report of a battery Sunday afternoon around 3:20 p.m., Fryhoff said. The sheriff said the Moorpark man was one of the callers and cooperated with deputies at the scene.
By Monday, investigators searched the Moorpark man's home but they had not taken him into custody. The man's name has not been released. Fryhoff said the sheriff's office's interest in the man does not preclude the possibility that others were involved.
More: Man injured at Thousand Oaks protest dies; Ventura County Sheriff's Office investigates
Kessler, of Thousand Oaks, had been conscious while being treated and was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, the sheriff said. The agency was notified of his death early Monday.
Dr. Chris Young, Ventura County's medical examiner, said Kessler had been given a CT scan after his arrival at the hospital that showed he had intracranial injuries and hemorrhaging. Kessler died at the hospital at 1:10 a.m. Monday.
An autopsy was performed by the medical examiner's office later Monday morning and showed Kessler suffered non-lethal injuries to his face and injuries to the back of his head caused from a fall. His cause of death was blunt force injuries.
Kessler's manner of death has been ruled a homicide, which Young stressed was not an indication of a crime. The designation means only the Thousand Oaks man died from the actions of another person. Law enforcement authorities typically determine whether or not a homicide resulted from a criminal act.
Fryhoff said the sheriff's office has not ruled out the possibility that the incident was a hate crime. The sheriff called on members of the public who may have witnessed the incident or have video from it to submit it to the sheriff's office, which can be reached at 805-384-4745.
Protests have been happening across the region and world in the days since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza that followed. Fryhoff said two peaceful protests related to the Israeli-Hamas war happened previously at the same intersection.
"We've had 21 protests in Ventura County since Oct. 7. This is the only one so far with a violent encounter."
Fryhoff said the sheriff's office will continue its procedure of evaluating each protest to see if more law enforcement is needed.
In an interview after the news conference, Thousand Oaks Police Chief Jeremy Paris said he drove by the protest site at 3:05 p.m. and the circumstances didn't seem different from previous protests. He left before any violence occurred.
Paris said it's important not to put an unnecessary number of deputies at a protest. He said that could be playing into the hands of protesters wanting to post social media photos of clashes with police.
"If we're there when we don't need to be, we can make the situation worse," Paris said.
At the news conference, Fryhoff said patrols would be increased around synagogues and mosques throughout Ventura County, which had already been beefed up since Oct. 7. The city of Thousand Oaks contracts with the sheriff's office for police services.
'Shattering our community'
Kessler's death rocked Temple Etz Chaim, the Thousand Oaks synagogue where Kessler was a member and his wife, Cheryl, once served on the board.
“It’s really shattering our community, and it’s scary,” Rabbi Ari Averbach said. “How do we make sure we still feel safe here?”
Kessler worked in the medical field and had two adult children, Averbach said, adding the loved ones seek privacy to deal with their grief.
“He was a husband. He was a father,” the rabbi said. “He wasn’t out there stirring the pot. He happened to be at the wrong place, not realizing there were people who would resort to violence.”
Other representatives of the Jewish and Islamic faiths discussed Kessler's death during interviews after the news conference.
"I'm happy to hear they're (sheriff's office) putting a lot of attention and focus on getting to the bottom of it," said Rabbi Moshe Bryski of Chabad of Conejo Valley, based in Agoura Hills.
Bryski said he believes law enforcement will take the danger during protests more seriously after the Thousand Oaks altercation. He praised the sheriff's office in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties for providing more protection for synagogues.
Imam Muhammed Shoayb Mehtar of the Islamic Center of Conejo Valley, based in Newbury Park, said an increased law enforcement presence would make all protesters feel safer. But he also noted he doesn't expect violence at future protests.
Mehtar condemned the violence at the Shell station and called for continued efforts to build bridges between the Islamic and Jewish communities.
"As Muslims, we condemn every form of violence and aggression," Mehtar said.
Dan Meisel, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, said there have been instances of violence at various protests and counter-protests, including an assault last week against a Jewish student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst during a pro-Israel demonstration, but he said this is the first death that the ADL is aware of.
This is the most tragic incident to occur in the U.S. since Oct. 7 in connection with Israel’s war against Hamas,” Meisel said. “It’s a painful reminder that words matter and the inciteful rhetoric we’re seeing in these demonstrations can and does inspire and incite violence.”
Meisel said he wasn’t in Thousand Oaks for this demonstration, but he has witnessed other pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations at the same street corner.
“I wasn’t there that weekend but I have seen, at that intersection, signs comparing Israel to the Nazi regime. There was a swastika on a sign next to an Israeli flag, that’s an example of deeply offensive rhetoric. At other protests we’ve seen signs calling for the destruction of Israel, ‘from the river to the sea,’ and signs calling Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians ‘justified resistance.’”
County Supervisor Jeff Gorell, whose district includes Thousand Oaks, spoke about Kessler during a meeting Tuesday.
The Thousand Oaks resident was a member of Temple Etz Chaim, a pilot, a member of the Civil Air Patrol, a hospital account manager for 24 years, and “somebody that I’m told was a wonderful person,” Gorell said.
“It's terribly sad. It’s heartbreaking that this came to this,” he said. “I just want to say on behalf of myself and my family, that we extend our prayers to his family and his friends as they're grieving his loss.”
“I think the entire community grieves his loss,” Gorell said.
'A passionate Jew'
Jonathan Oswaks, a Jewish man, said he met Kessler on social media two weeks ago after Kessler was trying to organize pro-Israel counter protests at the intersection. Oswaks returned to the gas station for a Tuesday afternoon news conference.The two protested together in recent weeks and returned to the corner Sunday. This time, Oswaks said, they brought a trio of flags, including an American, Israeli and one that read Don't Tread on Me. Kessler insisted on carrying the Israeli flag, he said.
Agoura Hills resident Lu Johnson said he drove through the intersection twice Sunday, first at 3:08 p.m. and on his return at 3:28 p.m., citing a lifestyle app he uses for his family. He and his son went to grab boba drinks when they saw the protesters.
On their first pass, Johnson said they saw a man standing by himself on the corner near the Shell gas station and holding a flag of Israel. On two other corners they saw demonstrators in support of Palestine. After getting their beverages, Johnson and his son drove past the intersection and saw Kessler on the ground.
"We were in shock. We saw that man on his back bleeding," Johnson said.
At one point, Oswaks said he crossed the street from the gas station to the opposite corner. From his post, he saw a megaphone “flying through the air” in a “white flash.”
With no knowledge of what had happened, he stayed on the opposite corner while emergency vehicles surrounded the gas station. He saw the flag Kessler had been carrying leaning against a sign, then on the ground.
“It still didn’t register what happened,” he said.
It wasn’t until after emergency personnel had left that Oswaks learned that Kessler had been hurt. Oswaks' voice rose as he talked about the sheriff’s decision not to make any arrests.
“The police are nowhere to be found,” he said. “Nowhere.”
Oswaks said that though he’d known Kessler only two weeks, he considered him a “brother.”
“He was a passionate Jew,” Oswaks said.
Staff writers Tom Kisken, Isaiah Murtaugh and Tony Biasotti contributed to this report.
Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Moorpark man investigated for ties to Jewish man's death
