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Pro-Palestine activist Riddhi Patel, who was seen on video threatening to kill the mayor and city council members of Bakersfield, California, at a public meeting on Wednesday, cried in court on Friday as she was charged with 18 felonies. Patel is being held on $1 million bond after pleading not guilty.
In fiery remarks to the council over Israel in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Patel, 28, threatened revolution, guillotines and assassination at Wednesday's meeting.
Patel spoke twice during Wednesday's meeting in support of a ceasefire proposal in Hamas' war on Israel. His first remarks began with mention of his belief that Jesus would kill the city council members (“You guys are all horrible human beings and Jesus probably would have killed you himself”), and ended with mention of violent revolution. Hui and his hope that the city council would one day do so would be executed by guillotine (“I remind you that on these holidays we practice, as others in the Global South believe in, violent revolution against their oppressors. And I hope one day someone brings a guillotine and kills all of you ***ers!”)
His second comment included opposition to a proposal to use metal detectors for city council meetings and ended with him saying, “We'll see you at your house, we'll murder you!”
Patel's comment went viral after Libs of TikTok posted the video clip, “WILD: Pro-Palestine protester Riddhi Patel mentally disturbed during city council meeting M*RDER Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh (R) threatened. Patel has been charged with 16 felonies and is being held on $1 million bail.
WILD: Pro-Palestine protester Riddhi Patel mentally harasses and threatens M*RDER Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh (R) during a city council meeting.
Patel has been charged with 16 felonies and is being held on $1 million bail. pic.twitter.com/09PeBCWoNz
– Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) 12 April 2024
A video posted Friday night by KGET-TV shows Patel crying in court:
Patel's biography on the Middle on Race, Poverty, and the Atmosphere, the place his title is listed as Financial Growth Coordinator, is as follows:
Riddhi joined the Middle on Race, Poverty, and the Atmosphere in September 2020. He was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA and attended Stockdale Excessive Faculty. He then earned a Bachelor of Science diploma in Neuroscience from Saint Louis College in 2017. After returning to Bakersfield in 2019, he started volunteering for the Bernie 2020 marketing campaign, the place he discovered work organizing. After the marketing campaign ended, she shortly discovered a house within the Dawn Motion and co-founded the native Dawn Motion hub in Kern County with different native organizers.
By advocating for frequent sense statewide failures to guard frontline communities throughout the state, she based CRPE in late 2020. She prioritizes highlighting the interconnectedness that comes with the environmental justice motion to attain collective liberation for all oppressed communities. In her free time, she enjoys holding elected officers accountable, watching numerous films, tv collection and sports activities, and having fun with time exterior along with her household and buddies.
The Bakersfield Californian reported on the allegations (excerpts):
10 counts of uttering threats with intent to terrorize in relation to 5 Metropolis Council members – Andre Gonzales, Bruce Freeman, Ken Weir, Manpreet Kaur and Patty Grey – in addition to Mayor Karen Goh, Metropolis Clerk Julie Drimakis, Assistant Metropolis Clerk Sara Are. Ortega, Metropolis Legal professional Ginny Gennaro and Metropolis Supervisor Christian Clegg, in line with the grievance The Californian requested from the Kern County District Legal professional's Workplace.
At Friday's listening to, Courtroom Commissioner Sally Eckerknecht granted a protecting order that prohibits Patel from going inside 500 yards of the ten people' houses, companies or colleges the place they go to or maintain occasions. Patel has additionally been ordered to remain 500 yards away from Metropolis Corridor North and South if he posts bail, which is presently set at $1 million.
Counting eight counts of intimidating sure public officers, the grievance lists Gonzales, Freeman, Weir, Kaur, Grey, Goh, Clegg and Drimakis as victims. Clegg and Drimakis are usually not elected officers, nevertheless, they’re described as such within the grievance.
The opposite two Metropolis Council members who attended Wednesday's assembly, Bob Smith and Eric Arias, are usually not thought-about victims as a result of they didn’t really feel threatened, DA spokeswoman Daniela Gonzaga mentioned in an e mail to The Californian.
Patel's subsequent listening to is on April 24 and 25.