The pro-Palestinian professor charged in the death of a 69-year-old Jewish dad in a scuffle during a street protest in California had his bail slashed Friday from $1 million to just $50,000.

The drastic bail reduction came shortly after authorities announced the suspect, Loay Abedelfattah Alnaji, 50, could still face hate crime charges in the death of Paul Kessler, who died of a head injury he sustained while counter-protesting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Nov. 5.

Alnaji, who holds both Jordanian and US passports, wore blue jail garb as he entered court, where there were about 25 reporters and multiple members of his family including his wife Nada, who appeared distraught.

The suspect, who teaches computer science at Moorpark College, briefly looked over the audience before taking a seat next to his lawyer, Ron Bamieh, who argued his client was not a flight risk.

“He is a US citizen. He belongs to Ventura County. He is no flight risk. He has cooperated with police,” Bamieh told Judge Ryan Wright of Alnaji.

“He has no intention of fleeing. His family is here, he has three children, and he has a long-time wife,” the lawyer added.

Bamieh also cited Alnaj’s lack of a criminal history — and implied that his client would be released on his own recognizance if he were not of Middle Eastern descent.

“He has no criminal record. He doesn’t even have a ticket for loud music. What are we doing? If this is Smith Jones, he would be OR’d [released on his own recognizance],” the lawyer said. “He was protesting a cause he believed in. … He is no danger to the community.”

Judge Wright set bail at $50,000 and ordered Alnaji, who pleaded not guilty to two felony counts, to turn over his passports. 

At an impromptu press conference after the hearing, Bameih said he expects his client would be able to post bail Friday but that it could take hours before he’s released. 

The lawyer added that there is video evidence that Kessler had been “abusive in the past” to protesters.

“There is social media footage of him doing obscene things towards protesters,” Bamieh said. “He took the time to learn an Arabic word that means ‘whore’ and shout that at protesters. The effort and passion with which he hated the people there is clear ….  I’m sure Mr. Kessler in his ordinary life was a nice man, but for whatever reason, and I can think of many, this issue really inflamed him.”

Bamieh asserted that the videos of Kessler falling showed his client was 6 to 8 feet away from the senior when he went down on the pavement. 

“While he may have been pushed or hit by a megaphone, that’s not what caused his fall,” the lawyer said of Kessler. “When he fell, my client was 6 to 8 feet away from him, and that will be the evidence that we present when we finally get this thing in front of a judge and jury.”

Bamieh added, “To act like [Alnaji] is a flight risk and threat, that he’s going to take off to Jordan or Kuwait, is ludicrous.”

Earlier in the day, the Ventura County District Attorney’s office held a joint news conference to announce that although the office has so far opted not to file hate crime charges in Kessler’s death, it was still a possibility if new evidence came to light. 

“We have not ruled out a hate crime. The investigation into an alleged hate crime is still ongoing. There are outstanding search warrants, but at this moment in time, we do not have the elements of a hate crime satisfied, thus we cannot charge it in this criminal document,” said Ventura County DA Erik Nasarenko at a news conference Friday.

But Nasarenko said that either way, the two felony counts lodged against Alnaji — involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury — would count as two strikes against him under California’s three-strikes law if he is convicted.

If a person is convicted of “three strikes” under state law, they land a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life behind bars.

Nasarenko said his office declined to file murder charges because the evidence did not support a conclusion that Alnaji deliberately killed Kessler, a married father who had worked in medical sales and as a college professor and was a pilot.

“We received no evidence, no statements, no information whatsoever that the defendant arrived at that intersection with the intent to kill, harm, or injure anyone,” the DA said.

Nasarenko said investigators had so far interviewed more than 60 witnesses and reviewed over 600 pieces of evidence. He acknowledged the difficulty in charging a case like this given the “disparate, often conflicting interpretations and statements,” as well as the “fragmentary nature of the evidence.”

But using the extensive physical and forensic evidence in the case, the DA’s office was able to “establish a clear sequence of events leading up to the confrontation,” helped along also by video and digital imagery captured at the scene, Nasarenko said.

“These new pieces of evidence as well as the technology we utilized has permitted our office to file these criminal charges,” he said. “Our task was to search for the truth and to achieve clarity in this case, and that is what we have done.”

Nasarenko said he had a virtual meeting with Kessler’s family Thursday for approximately 30 minutes.

“They are mourning, they are grieving, and they are asking for privacy during this very difficult period,” he said.

In his remarks to reporters, Nasarenko painted a picture of Kessler as a hard worker and dedicated family man.

“Paul Kessler worked in medical sales for a number of decades. He also taught sales and marketing at a number of satellite college campuses. He was also a pilot. He was married for 43 years. He also leaves behind a son.

“We want to continue to remember and honor Paul Kessler and the tragic loss of life that occurred,” Nasarenko said.

Alnaji, who has posted pro-Palestinian messages on his personal social media accounts, was arrested at his home in Moorpark “without incident” early Thursday.

Alnaji is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on Dec. 4.