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California professor accused of killing pro-Israel protester will ‘likely’ avoid lengthy prison sentence
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The Jewish community is outraged after a California district attorney’s office signaled that a community college professor could escape a lengthy prison sentence after he struck an elderly pro-Israel protester with a megaphone, which led to him falling backwards onto the ground and later dying at the hospital from blunt force trauma, according to the medical examiner.
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 53, an anti-Israel community college professor, was initially ordered to stand trial after hitting a pro-Israel protester, Paul Kessler, 69, in the head with a megaphone, who was standing across the street from him during dueling pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests in Thousand Oaks, located in Ventura County, California, in 2023. Kessler fell backwards to the ground after being struck by Alnaji striking his head and sending him to the hospital before passing away shortly thereafter from blunt force trauma, according to the medical examiner.
The incident took place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war tensions and concerns about antisemitism rising in the United States and more broadly. Alnaji was initially facing up to four years in prison for the matter as he fought the charges against him, but on Tuesday he reversed course and the court «indicated that it is likely to place Alnaji on formal probation with up to 365 days in jail,» according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, which said it was displeased with the move.
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Paul Kessler can be seen at the intersection of Westlake and Thousand Oaks Boulevards hours before, authorities say, Alnaji delivered the blow that caused him to hit the ground and sustain fatal injuries, (Provided to Fox News Digital)
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan, who offered Alnaji probation if he changed his plea, according to the Ventura County Star, reportedly likened the altercation to if «two old guys had a dispute and an accident happened,» Defense attorney Ron Bamieh said, after noting the offer came after multiple meetings between him and the judge.
A defense source familiar with the case said that the district attorney’s office was also involved in these talks, despite public statements indicating they were unhappy with the outcome. The defense source said the district attorney’s office had to take a harsher stance for political reasons.
«Alnaji should be sentenced to prison for his violent behavior, and our office strongly objects to any lesser sentence,» said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. «While no amount of punishment will ever fully account for the Kessler family loss, a prison commitment underscores the severity of this crime and will deter others from committing similar acts of violence.»
A prosecutor also said Kessler’s family opposed the sentence and sought the maximum term.
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Alnaji can be seen watching an ambulance cart Paul Kessler to a nearby hospital on November 5. (Provided to Fox News Digital)
However, the defense source said that prior to the plea this week, the victim’s family wanted the case over quickly and quietly, without a trial, and did not have a strong opinion about sentencing. The source also contested claims that anyone had actually seen the full incident occur and insisted there were numerous contradictions in the eyewitness accounts provided that alleged Alnaji was the aggressor.
«Mr. Alnaji made a thoughtful decision today, one guided by his family’s well-being and a deep concern for community peace. The tragedy that befell Mr. Kessler, compounded by the geopolitical tensions surrounding Israel and Gaza, led Mr. Alnaji to reconsider pursuing a full trial,» Bamieh said in a statement. «The evidence regarding Mr. Kessler’s aggressive conduct, his history of advocating violence and antagonistic tactics at pro-Palestinian rallies, and most critically, his brain stem condition—all of these facts would likely have shifted the outcome of a trial.»
The defense has argued that a pre-existing brain injury is actually what caused Kessler’s death, not blunt force trauma as was determined by the medical examiner.
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«For those who have characterized Mr. Alnaji as a violent man who intentionally struck a helpless victim, I simply say: they are either uninformed about the facts of this case, or they are pursuing an agenda unrelated to justice. The record tells a different story,» Bamieh concluded.
Pictured is a mugshot of Loay Alnaji, arrested at his Moorpark, California home around 7:40 a.m. yesterday. The community college computer science professor faces involuntary manslaughter and battery charges in the death of pro-Israel protester Paul Kessler (Ventura County Sheriff’s Department)
Jonathan Oswaks, a friend of Kessler’s who was at the rally with him when the incident took place, told the Jewish Journal that the sentencing news was «deeply frustrating.»
«I’m not a lawyer, but the way this was handled raises serious questions for me. It sends a troubling message about accountability,» he told the Jewish Journal in an interview.
Oswaks recounted moments from the event in his interview with the outlet, noting how the pro-Palestinian protesters vastly outnumbered them that day. He said after the pair had split up, people began approaching him and stood inches from his face yelling into his ear and using a megaphone.
«When I tell you I had never experienced that level of hate in my life, I hadn’t,» he said. «I told them to get out of my space. They backed off briefly, then started again. I made it clear they needed to stay away, and eventually they did.»
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A memorial is set up by a gas station in Ventura County, California for Paul Kessler, on November 7, 2023. The 69-year-old died following an altercation with a pro-Palestinian protester days earlier. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
After news of the deal came down, the Anti-Defamation League expressed disfavor with the likely sentencing outcome, arguing it «emboldens others to act in anger against the Jewish community.»
Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, said that «while we would have liked a harsher sentence,» he welcomed «the admission of guilt for this heinous crime,» according to the L.A. Times.
«Our hope is that today’s news helps bring closure to his family and gives our community the ability to demonstrate safely,» Farkas added.
Alnaji’s sentencing is scheduled for June 25, and he remains at home after posting $50,000 bail.
in court, trials, trials, anti semitism, hamas
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This is part one of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.
NATO has become a «bloated architecture» too dependent on American military power, former senior national security advisor Keith Kellogg told Fox News Digital.
As President Donald Trump pressures NATO allies to spend more on defense — ordering the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany and signaling possible cuts in Spain and Italy — a deeper concern is emerging inside the alliance: despite years of rising European defense budgets, NATO still depends heavily on American military power, from missile defense and intelligence to logistics and nuclear deterrence.
The growing gap between political commitments and real military capability is now fueling calls for structural changes inside the alliance as NATO confronts mounting threats from Russia and instability in the Middle East.
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NATO’s imbalance is not theoretical — and it is not new, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told Fox News Digital, «I told the president… maybe you ought to talk about a tiered relationship with NATO,» Kellogg described conversations with Trump in his first term about the alliance’s future. «…we need to develop a new, for lack of a better term, a new NATO a new defensive alignment with Europe.»
Kellogg added the alliance has expanded politically but not militarily — creating what he sees as a growing gap between commitments and real capability.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose during the NATO Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool/Reuters)
«You started with 12, and you went to 32, and in the process, I think you diluted the impact,» he argued, calling today’s NATO «a very bloated architecture.»
«They haven’t put the money into defense. Their defense industry and defense forces have atrophied. When you look at the Brits right now, they could barely deploy forces: they have two aircraft carriers, both under maintenance. Their brigades are like one out of six that work. And you just look at the capability, it’s just not there. So I think we need to realize that and say, well, we need something different,» Kellogg, who is the co-chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Foreign Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
But not everyone agrees the alliance is losing relevance.
«It has never been more relevant,» said John R. Deni, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, who says NATO remains central to U.S. national security.
«The reason for that is twofold,» he said. «One, it’s our comparative advantage versus the Chinese and the Russians… they don’t have anything like this.»
«And the second reason… NATO underwrites the security and stability of our most important trade and investment relationship,» he added, referring to economic ties between North America and Europe.
NATO ALLIES CLASH AFTER RUSSIAN JETS BREACH AIRSPACE, TESTING ALLIANCE RESOLVE
NATO chiefs of defense hold a meeting in Brussels on Aug. 20, 2025, with screens displaying allied leaders joining remotely to discuss Ukraine. (Fox News)
Dependence: Design or Weakness?
By around 2010, the United States accounted for roughly 65% to 70% of NATO defense spending, according to analysis provided by Barak Seener from the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank.
«They’ve always been dependent on the U.S.,» Kellogg said of the European allies.
«The allies overall rely upon one another for deterrence and defense by design,» Deni said, explaining that alliances exist to «pool their resources» and «aggregate their individual strengths.»
Deni pointed to ground forces as a clear example of what the U.S. gains from the alliance, noting that «there are far more allied mechanized infantry forces on the ground than there are Americans.»
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Still, he acknowledged that reliance has at times gone too far.
«In the past… it was fair to say that the European allies were overly reliant upon the Americans for conventional defense,» he said, pointing to the 2000s.
That, he said, was partly driven by U.S. priorities — as Washington pushed European allies to focus on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq rather than territorial defense.
A Polish Army soldier sits in a tank as a NATO flag flies behind during the NATO Noble Jump VJTF exercises on June 18, 2015, in Zagan, Poland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Seener describes NATO as «formally collective, but functionally asymmetric,» with the U.S. providing a disproportionate share of «high-end capabilities.»
That asymmetry is most visible in nuclear deterrence.
Seener said the U.S. provides the overwhelming majority of NATO’s nuclear arsenal — including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched systems and strategic bombers — meaning deterrence ultimately relies on the assumption of U.S. retaliation.
A NATO official told Fox News Digital that, «The U.S. nuclear deterrent cannot be replaced, but it is clear that Europe needs to step up. There’s no question. There needs to be a better balance when it comes to our defense and security. Both because we see the vital role the U.S. plays around the world and the resources that it demands, and also because it is only fair.»
«The good news,» the official added, «is that the Allies are doing exactly that. They are stepping up, working together — and with the U.S. — to ensure we collectively have what we need to deter and defend one billion people living across the Euro-Atlantic area.»
NATO LAUNCHES ARCTIC SECURITY PUSH AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND TAKEOVER
Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters of the U.S. Army 12th Combat Aviation Brigade fly over a Lithuanian Vilkas infantry fighting vehicle during the Allied Spirit 25 military exercise near Hohenfels, Germany, on March 12, 2025.
The Systems NATO Cannot Replace
Beyond nuclear weapons, the dependence runs through the alliance’s operational backbone.
Seener pointed to U.S.-provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — as well as logistics and command systems — as essential to NATO operations.
«Without U.S. intelligence and surveillance, NATO loses situational awareness and early warning capabilities,» Seener said, adding, «So that means that Russia, for example, can attack Europe. And theoretically, if there’s no NATO and the U.S. is not involved, Europe would not be aware, or it would take it too long to be able to defend itself.»
Kellogg also says that much of Europe’s military capability falls short of top-tier systems.
«For the most part, their equipment, if you had to grade it A, B, C, D, E, F, they’re kind of like B players or C players,» he said. «It’s not the first line of work.»
He pointed to air and missile defense as a key gap, noting that while European countries rely on U.S.-made systems such as Patriot and THAAD, «they don’t have a system that’s comparable.»
Kellogg attributed that to years of underinvestment, saying European defense industries «have atrophied,» adding that the United States is also now «relearning that as well.»
TRUMP AFFIRMS US ‘WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR NATO,’ WHILE EXPRESSING DOUBTS ABOUT ALLIANCE
President Donald Trump and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda talk during a working lunch at the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain, on Dec. 4, 2019. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Deni said the picture today is more mixed.
«Alliance defense spending has been up… and has spiked far more after 2022,» he said, pointing to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 as a turning point.
But he cautioned that capability gains take time, noting that many improvements are still years away from full deployment.
Deni pointed to recent European purchases of U.S. systems as evidence of growing capability, noting that countries including Poland, Romania, Norway and Denmark are acquiring the F-35 fighter jet from the U.S.
«You can’t build an F-35 overnight,» he said, adding that many of these improvements will take years to fully materialize.
A NATO official told Fox News Digital the alliance «needs to move further and faster» to meet growing threats, pointing to new capability targets agreed by defense ministers in June 2025.
Keith Kellogg speaks during the Warsaw Security Forum on Sept. 30, 2025, in Poland. (Marek Antoni Iwanczuk/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The official said priorities include air and missile defense, long-range weapons, logistics and large land forces, noting that while details remain classified, plans call for a fivefold increase in air and missile defense, «thousands more» armored vehicles and tanks, and «millions more» artillery shells. NATO also aims to double key enabling capabilities such as logistics, transportation and medical support.
The official added that allies are increasing investments in warships, aircraft, drones, long-range missiles, as well as space and cyber capabilities, while boosting readiness and modernizing command and control.
«These targets are now included in national plans,» the official said, adding that allies must demonstrate how they will meet them through sustained defense spending and capability development.
The NATO official also noted that European allies lead multinational forces across Central and Eastern Europe, while the U.S. and Canada serve as framework nations in Poland and Latvia, alongside ongoing air policing missions and NATO’s KFOR operation in Kosovo.
A Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft takes off from southern Sweden on April 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Patric Soderstrom, File)
What happens if the U.S. is stretched?
Kellogg’s warning is direct: NATO’s deterrence depends on U.S. presence.
«The one you always have to worry about… is Russia,» Kellogg, who was Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia in 2025, said.
If U.S. forces are tied down elsewhere, NATO could face serious strain — particularly in areas like intelligence and logistics.
For Kellogg, the danger is delay. «We won’t know until it happens,» he said. «And then you won’t be able to respond to it.»
Deni, however, said the alliance remains a strategic asset — not a liability.
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A NATO military force stands guard outside the World Forum in The Hague ahead of the two-day NATO summit on June 22, 2025. (Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP)
The question, he suggests, is not whether NATO still works. It is whether allies can adapt fast enough to keep it working.
nato, defense, national security, alliances, spending
INTERNACIONAL
Runet y el Día de la Victoria: la arquitectura del control digital ruso se pone a prueba en su fecha más sensible
Con raíces en la Unión Soviética y en la KGB, la propaganda y la manipulación informativa han sido pilares de algunos de los sistemas políticos más rígidos. En ese marco, la adopción acelerada de tecnologías digitales se ha convertido, por su propia naturaleza, en una herramienta funcional a la influencia política, la invocación de la seguridad nacional y la administración de la narrativa pública.
En las últimas horas, diversas fuentes de inteligencia analizan la posibilidad de un atentado contra el líder ruso e incluso escenarios de desestabilización interna. Más allá de esas hipótesis, lo verificable es que desde mayo de 2026 Rusia ha intensificado las restricciones sobre la conectividad móvil en Moscú y otras regiones, en particular durante eventos sensibles como el Día de la Victoria. Si bien estas medidas se justifican formalmente en razones de seguridad —entre ellas la amenaza de ataques con drones ucranianos— su impacto cotidiano revela algo más profundo. La interrupción de servicios afecta pagos digitales, operaciones bancarias, transporte, navegación y comunicación básica, al tiempo que dificulta el uso de aplicaciones de mensajería como Telegram.
Vladimir Putin ha sostenido la necesidad de reforzar estos controles tras más de cuatro años de conflicto desde la invasión a Ucrania en 2022. Ambos países se encuentran inmersos en una guerra de drones sin precedentes, en la que dispositivos de largo alcance impactan tanto en centros de mando como en infraestructuras críticas, especialmente en el sector energético. En ese contexto, Ucrania ha logrado alcanzar objetivos en territorio ruso —incluso en zonas industriales como Kirishi— mientras que Moscú informó haber interceptado centenares de drones en una sola noche.
Las preocupaciones del entorno presidencial se han intensificado desde que ataques ucranianos lograron aproximarse a instalaciones sensibles, incluyendo el propio Kremlin y residencias vinculadas al mandatario. En paralelo, Rusia cuenta con la capacidad técnica de aislarse de la red global mediante el desarrollo de Runet, un sistema que el país viene probando desde hace años bajo el argumento de protegerse de interferencias externas.
Lo que en sus inicios se presentaba como una medida preventiva, comienza a consolidarse en 2026 como un instrumento de control interno. La progresiva implementación de este modelo no sólo permite regular el acceso a la información, sino también condicionar la formación de la opinión pública e incluso facilitar mecanismos de vigilancia. En este sentido, la hiperconectividad contemporánea se convierte en una fuente constante de datos, particularmente valiosa para regímenes con vocación de control.
Las restricciones se concentran en grandes centros urbanos como San Petersburgo, donde se registran cortes prolongados en determinadas zonas. Sin embargo, no se trata de un apagón uniforme, sino de un esquema selectivo que habilita únicamente plataformas incluidas en listas aprobadas por el gobierno. Esta lógica impacta de lleno en la vida cotidiana. Comercios y ciudadanos enfrentan dificultades para realizar transacciones, muchas de las cuales solo pueden concretarse en efectivo, mientras que tareas básicas como utilizar un GPS se vuelven inciertas.
En la práctica, esto se configura como un control estatal sobre las telecomunicaciones. El Servicio Federal de Seguridad dispone de facultades para ordenar interrupciones del servicio, respaldado por un marco legal que obliga a los operadores a acatar estas decisiones sin necesidad de fundamentaciones específicas. Frente a este escenario, los ciudadanos apelan a alternativas informales, como redes wifi públicas en cafeterías o cadenas gastronómicas, aunque la principal estrategia consiste en el uso de VPN. Aun así, estas herramientas también comienzan a ser bloqueadas con creciente rapidez.
Este esquema dista de ser novedoso, aunque su consolidación actual evidencia una tendencia más amplia hacia un modelo digital cerrado y centralizado. Se trata de una arquitectura que busca institucionalizar una “internet soberana”, en línea con el camino recorrido por China, cuyo sistema de control sobre el ciberespacio se ha convertido en referencia para otros regímenes.
Gabriel Zurdo es especialista en ciberseguridad, riesgo tecnológico y negocios.
vladimir putin,rusia,internet,runet
INTERNACIONAL
Taiwán advirtió que el nuevo presupuesto de Defensa podría crear “brechas” en las capacidades militares de la isla
El Parlamento taiwanés, con mayoría opositora, aprobó este viernes una partida presupuestaria de casi USD 25.000 millones destinada a Defensa, cifra considerablemente menor a la propuesta presentada en noviembre por el presidente Lai Ching-te, quien había solicitado un presupuesto suplementario de USD 40.000 millones.
La medida, que pone fin a meses de debate político sobre el gasto en defensa, representa un revés para el mandatario y su Partido Progresista Democrático (PPD).
Durante las negociaciones, el Kuomintang —principal partido de la oposición y favorable a incrementar los lazos con el régimen chino— propuso aumentar los fondos para la adquisición de armamento estadounidense.
Legisladores del partido gobernante criticaron la propuesta y advirtieron que podría dejar a Taiwán vulnerable en caso de un bloqueo o cerco por parte de China, al excluir compras nacionales del presupuesto final.
Por este motivo, el oficialismo acusó al grupo opositor de buscar “desarmar” la isla. El mandatario Lai, pretendía elevar el gasto en defensa al 5% del producto interior bruto (PIB) en su anuncio de finales de 2025 y resaltar el apoyo de Estados Unidos y el principio de “buscar la paz mediante la fuerza”.
Lai también afirmó que se está acelerando el desarrollo del T-Dome, un sistema de defensa integrado de múltiples capas para proteger Taiwán de misiles, cohetes, drones y aviones de combate chinos, en medio de los ejercicios de Beijng cerca de la isla y Japón. Su estrategia, señaló, busca “aumentar los costes de la escalada militar” y minimizar los riesgos de desescalada, para que el peligro de un conflicto “supere siempre el precio de la paz”.
El Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (MDN) de Taiwán advirtió que el presupuesto especial aprobado por los legisladores podría generar “brechas” en las capacidades de combate de la isla.
El Legislativo, dominado también el Partido Popular de Taiwán, ratificó la ley que aporta financiación adicional para la compra de sistemas militares estadounidenses, pero excluye proyectos de compras comerciales y de producción por encargo.
Ante este panorama, en un comunicado, el MDN señaló que la normativa aprobada por la oposición “perjudica la integridad de la planificación militar” y “podría generar fácilmente brechas en las capacidades de combate”.
El presupuesto no contempla recursos para el misil antibalístico de alcance medio ‘Chiang Kung’, considerado la “columna vertebral” del sistema integrado de defensa aérea T-Dome, ni para el dron táctico de vigilancia marítima ‘Rui Yuan II’ y otros sistemas de vehículos no tripulados.
La cartera de Defensa advirtió que la exclusión de los drones “retrasará considerablemente el calendario de desarrollo de las capacidades asimétricas de las fuerzas armadas y afectará al crecimiento de la industria nacional de drones, provocando pérdidas en el crecimiento económico esperado y en oportunidades de empleo”.
El presidente taiwanés sostuvo que el nuevo presupuesto permitirá avanzar en la adquisición de “múltiples equipos clave” procedentes de Estados Unidos, entre ellos el sistema de lanzacohetes múltiple HIMARS, aunque advirtió que la medida todavía no representa una “respuesta completa”.
“Cualquier brecha afectará la integridad del sistema defensivo en su conjunto; cualquier retraso incrementará los riesgos de seguridad que toda la ciudadanía deberá asumir colectivamente. En el objetivo de reforzar la autodefensa y proteger al país y a sus ciudadanos no deberían existir diferencias entre oficialismo y oposición”, aseveró el mandatario a través de Facebook.
(Con información de Europa Press y EFE)
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Marcela Pagano cruzó a Milei por acusarla de “mentirosa compulsiva”: “Confundió rating con grandeza”
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Javier Milei adelantó que Manuel Adorni presentará su declaración jurada, tras la presión de Bullrich
