A video of a demonstrator threatening members of a California municipal council with murder went viral after being shared on conservative social media sites.
Local media identified the protester as Riddhi Patel, 28, who was arrested inside Bakersfield City Council chambers on Wednesday and later charged with felony threats against the council.
Patel, who can be heard in the video addressing Palestinians, made the threats while speaking at a council meeting when public comments were permitted.
Her main point of discussion was security upgrades at city council meetings, which included metal detectors. The council unanimously accepted the improvements, which were being utilized for a trial period, at its meeting on Wednesday.
“You guys want to criminalize us with metal detectors,” Patel told the council. “We’ll see you at your home. “We will murder you.”
Patel went on to say, “I hope one day somebody brings the guillotine and kills all of you motherf*****.”
On Friday afternoon, the conservative X, formerly Twitter, account Libs of TikTok shared a clip of Patel’s statements. The post has received over 1.6 million views as of press time.
Collin Rugg, co-owner of conservative opinion website Trending Politics, later shared Libs’ TikTok video. His post has received over 139,000 views.
According to KGET TV, an NBC affiliate station in Bakersfield, city council sessions “have been filled with tension” in recent weeks “as pro-Palestinian protesters urged council members to pass a cease-fire resolution for the Israel-Hamas War.”
The station spoke with a councilman who witnessed Patel’s outburst, and he stated that the council “will not be intimidated.”
“To have that type of threat, in that type of public setting, is completely inappropriate, unproductive, and deeply concerning,” Councilman and Vice Mayor Andrae Gonzales told KGET.
Gonzales went on to say, “Sit at the table like adults, exchange ideas, and really try to figure out how we can find a path together.” Making direct threats to elected leaders and decision-makers is not an effective strategy to influence others. Nobody on the city council will be intimidated into action.”
The United Liberation Front, a pro-Palestinian organization, said in a statement following the Bakersfield incident that it “condemns any statements that threaten public officials” and that Patel’s words are “counter to our values and do not represent the United Liberation Front.”