A California-based advocacy group fired an employee Monday after the woman was charged with threatening to kill members of the Bakersfield City Council last week because they wouldn’t support a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment said it parted ways with Riddhi Patel, who worked as an economic development coordinator, because she told the city council last week, “We’ll see you at your house. We’ll murder you.”
“We unequivocally condemn any threats of violence or unethical behavior,” the organization wrote on X. “CRPE has been committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and respect in all our work and interactions for the past 35 years.”
Video from Wednesday’s meeting showed Ms. Patel lambasting the city council as “horrible human beings, and Jesus probably would’ve killed you himself.”
She ended her first trip to the podium by saying she hopes “one day someone brings the guillotine and kills all you motherf—-ers.”
Fifteen minutes later, she repeated the murderous threat to the council. That prompted Mayor Karen Goh to ask Ms. Patel to remain standing because officers were going to detain her.
Ms. Patel, 28, now faces multiple felony charges of making terroristic threats to public officials. She tearfully pleaded not guilty during her arraignment hearing Friday.
She is being held on a $1 million bond.
The United Liberation Front, the pro-Palestinian group behind the cease-fire resolution being pushed on local governing bodies, said it “unequivocally condemns any statements that threaten public officials.”
Ms. Patel is due back in court on April 24.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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