Police investigating death of Jewish man after fight with counterprotesters

Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff on Tuesday confirmed police were considering the death a homicide. They said the 69-year-old man, Paul Kessler, died as the result of falling backward on Sunday during an “altercation” between two different groups of protesters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., near Los Angeles. Authorities said Kessler had taken part in a pro-Israel protest. The suspect that police are currently investigating was participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the same location. Fryhoff said roughly 75-100 people had participated in the Thousand Oaks protests.

What exactly happened? Fryhoff said Kessler fell back during a physical fight and hit his head on the ground. Kessler died at the hospital early Monday morning as a result. An autopsy yesterday determined that Kessler died from blunt force trauma. Police are trying to determine what took place during the altercation leading up to Kessler’s fall. They have requested that anyone with footage of the incident provide it to authorities.

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