Riddhi Patel, the pro-Palestinian activist seen on video threatening to murder the Bakersfield, California mayor and City Council members at a public meeting Wednesday, broke down in tears in court Friday as she was arraigned on 18 felony counts. Patel is being held on $1 million bond after pleading not guilty.
In fiery remarks to the council in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza war on Israel, Patel, 28, spoke of revolution, guillotines and threatened murder at Wednesday’s meeting.
Patel spoke twice during the meeting Wednesday in support of a ceasefire resolution in the Hamas war on Israel. Her first remarks began with mention of her belief 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 and her hope the City Council would be killed by guillotine one day (“I remind you that these holidays that we practice, that other people in the Global South practice, believe in violent revolution against their oppressors. And I hope one day somebody brings the guillotine and kills all of you motherf***ers!”)
Her second remarks included opposition to a proposal to use metal detectors for City Council meetings and ended with her saying, “We’ll see you at your house, we’ll murder you!”
Patel’s remarks went viral after video clips were posted by Libs of TikTok, “WILD: Unhinged Pro-Palestine protestor Riddhi Patel threatens to M*RDER Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh (R) in a psychotic rant during a city council meeting. Patel is being charged with 16 felonies and is being held on a $1 million bail.”
WILD: Unhinged Pro-Palestine protestor Riddhi Patel threatens to M*RDER Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh (R) in a psychotic rant during a city council meeting.
Patel is being charged with 16 felonies and is being held on a $1 million bail. pic.twitter.com/09PeBCWoNz
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 12, 2024
A video posted by KGET-TV Friday night shows Patel in tears in court:
Patel’s bio at the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, where her position is listed as Economic Development Coordinator, reads:
Riddhi joined the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment in September of 2020. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA and attended Stockdale High School. She then went on to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Saint Louis University in 2017. After returning to Bakersfield in 2019, she began volunteering for the Bernie 2020 campaign where she found organizing. After the campaign ended, she quickly found a home in the Sunrise Movement, co-founding the local Sunrise Movement hub in Kern County with other local organizers.
Through her advocacy for common sense statewide setbacks to protect frontline communities across the state, she found CRPE in the fall of 2020. She prioritizes highlighting the intersectionality that comes with the environmental justice movement to achieve collective liberation for all oppressed communities. In her spare time, she enjoys holding elected officials accountable, watching endless amounts of movies, television series and sports, and enjoying time outdoors with her family and friends.
The Bakersfield Californian reported on the charges (excerpt):
The 10 counts of threatening with the intent to terrorize are in regard to five City Council members — Andrae Gonzales, Bruce Freeman, Ken Weir, Manpreet Kaur and Patty Gray — as well as Mayor Karen Goh, City Clerk Julie Drimakis, Assistant City Clerk Sara Ortega, City Attorney Ginny Gennaro and City Manager Christian Clegg, according to the complaint The Californian requested from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
At Friday’s hearing, Court Commissioner Sally Ackerknecht granted a protective order that restricts Patel from going within 500 yards of the 10 individuals’ homes, businesses or schools that they attend or have events at. Patel is also ordered to stay 500 yards away from City Hall North and South if she posts bail, which is currently set at $1 million.
For the eight counts of threatening certain public officials, the complaint lists Gonzales, Freeman, Weir, Kaur, Gray, Goh, Clegg and Drimakis as the victims. Clegg and Drimakis are not elected officials, however, the complaint refers to them as such.
The other two City Council members who attended Wednesday’s meeting, Bob Smith and Eric Arias, are not considered victims because they did not feel threatened, DA spokeswoman Daniela Gonzaga said in an email to The Californian.
The next hearings for Patel are on April 24 and 25.
