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Anti-Israel protester charged for threats against California mayor, city council members: 'We'll murder you'

An anti-Israel protestor was recently arrested at a Bakersfield City Council meeting in California after threatening to murder the council members and Mayor Karen Goh.

An anti-Israel protester was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats at a Bakersfield City Council meeting in California on Wednesday. 

During the public comment section of the meeting, protester Riddhi Patel threatened to murder council members and Republican Mayor Karen Goh for not backing a cease-fire resolution against Israel and for installing heavier security at the government building due to ongoing anti-Israel protests.

Video of the meeting depicted Patel claiming she hoped oppressed minorities would guillotine city government members, declaring that even Jesus Christ would kill them, and threatening to go to their houses and murder them.

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The threats happened over the course of two speeches she made to the city council that evening.

During her first address, Patel declared that she was speaking in support of the cease-fire resolution and then predicted that the body would decline to support it because "you guys are all horrible human beings and Jesus would’ve killed you himself."

She followed up by accusing the council members of not caring about the oppression of Palestinians or people anywhere else in the world and later expressed hope that "the global south" rise up and execute them.

"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 mother------," she said.

During her second speech to the mayor and council, Patel ripped them for installing extra security measures like metal detectors in the building in an attempt to "criminalize" protesters. 

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She ended her address with a violent threat, declaring, "We’ll see you at your house. We’ll murder you."

After Patel walked away from the podium, Mayor Goh gestured to the police officers present and then addressed the protester, stating, "Ms. Patel. Ms. Patel, that was a threat – what you said at the end. And so the officers are going to escort you out and take care of that."

Bakersfield Police Sgt. Eric Celedon confirmed to local outlet Bakersfield.com that Patel was taken into custody and faces 16 felony counts. 

The report detailed these as "eight counts of threatening with intent to terrorize, and eight counts of threatening the seven City Council members and the mayor."

Anti-Israel protesters who were there with Patel tried to distance themselves from the woman after she was arrested. 

Jenny Huh told a local NBC affiliate, "The comments of Riddhi Patel were shocking. They in no way represent those of us who continue to come to city council to demand a ceasefire and an end to the genocide [in Gaza]. I ask that this does not distract anyone from our mission to end the genocide. Ceasefire now."

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