Anti-Israel Activist Arrested; Threatened to Murder City Council Members Saying, "Jesus Probably Would Have Killed You Himself"
- Michael Foust CrosswalkHeadlines Contributor
- Updated Apr 16, 2024
An anti-Israeli activist was arrested in the middle of a Bakersfield, Calif., city council meeting last week and charged with 18 felonies after she threatened to murder city council members.
Riddhi Patel, 28, was part of a series of pro-Palestinian speakers who were urging the Bakersfield city council to pass a resolution calling for an Israeli cease-fire in Gaza. Patel criticized the council members for inaction and also criticized them for installing metal detectors for attendees.
She grew up in Bakersfield and works at a nonprofit, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“People in the global south… believe in violent revolution against their oppressors,” Patel said. “And I hope one day somebody brings the guillotine and kills all of you mother******,” she told council members.
Earlier in her speech, she told council members she was there to “speak in support of the city council introducing a ceasefire resolution.”
“I don't have faith that you'll do this,” she said. “You guys are all horrible human beings, and Jesus probably would have killed you himself.”
Patel concluded, “You guys want to criminalize us with metal detectors. We'll see you at your house -- we will murder you.”
Seconds later, officers escorted her out of the city council chamber. She was charged with making terrorist threats against council members and pleaded not guilty, according to the Times.
Vice Mayor Andrae Gonzales said threats won’t move the city council to action. The way to persuade others, he said, is through dialogue.
“Sit at the table like adults and exchange ideas and go back and forth and really try to figure out how we can find a path together,” Gonzales told KGET. “But it's not making real threats, violent threats to elected officials, to decision makers -- that is not the way to influence others. Nobody on the city council will be intimidated to action.”
Patel’s words, he said, prove that metal detectors are needed. The city council also has had an increased presence by law enforcement.
“It's warranted,” he said. “The city can't function, city hall and city council cannot function during a public council meeting if we're continuously being disrupted.”
Image credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/peterschreiber.media
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
