Left Activist Faces Criminal Charges After City Council Remarks

(NewsWorthy.news) – A Far-Left protester has been arrested in California for allegedly threatening to kill Republican Mayor Karen Goh and Bakersfield City Council members for not supporting a Gaza cease-fire resolution.

Riddhi Patel, 28, reportedly identifies as non-binary, and was charged with 18 felony counts of threatening city council staffers and making terrorist threats. She told the council members at a public hearing that they were “horrible human beings” and that Jesus most likely would have killed them himself. She added that she hopes one day someone brings a guillotine and kills all of them. Patel commented on the use of metal detectors and more police staffing at council meetings, claiming that the only reason such measures had been brought in recently was that people do not care whether those on the council like them. She suggested the public are being “criminalized” for resisting.

Patel, an Indian-American, mentioned Mahatma Gandhi in her speech, claiming that the Hindu holiday of Chaitra Navratri encouraged violence against “oppressors”. Historically a supporter of the two-state solution, India has under Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted a strongly pro-Israel stance over the last year. Far-Right Hindus have come under criticism for expressing aggressively anti-Palestinian sentiments online.

At the council meeting, Patel slated the councilors and mayor before they voted on the cease-fire, saying that none of them cared about anything occurring in Palestine or any country suffering from oppression. Two days after the meeting she was seen crying uncontrollably in court as she was charged over the threats. In addition to the charges, Patel was ordered back to jail after the hearing in lieu of a $2 million bond.

After speaking at the meeting, Goh told Patel that her language amounted to a threat, and had her escorted out of the chambers by police. Other anti-Israel protesters present attempted to distance themselves from Patel. The activist has reportedly been fired from her job with the advocacy group since her threatening outburst.