Trans woman and Twitch streamer Keffals arrested at gunpoint in London, Ontario. police

On Saturday morning, Clara Sorrenti's fears came true. Armed police knocked on her door and asked her to come out as she had a search warrant.

A transgender woman and popular online streamer on Twitch, her Sorrenti, known by the name ofKeffals, was public. London, Ontario. City councilors lead to Sorrenti being arrested at gunpoint.

"When I walked out into the hallway and saw the assault rifle, I screamed and thought I was going to die," Sorrenti said in her Global News seated interview.

Swatting is the tactic of calling the police to a live girlfriend streamer's house. Armed police show up on the doorstep of the house trying to intimidate them. Doxing is the disclosure of personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.

Sorrenti was arrested on the morning of August 5th and woke up to police yelling at her doorstep. I was. As she tried to open the door, she claimed to see a London Police Department (LPS) officer crouching, wearing her riot shield and holding an assault rifle pointed directly at her. .

She was then pulled into a hallway by multiple police officers and arrested.

London police confirmed her arrest to her Global News.

“On Friday 5 August, London Police were contacted by City Hall of London to confirm that several had received letters threatening possible violence against individuals within City Hall later that day. Officers launched an investigation and the evidence obtained successfully obtained law enforcement to search the residence," an LPS spokesperson wrote in an email.

"Mr. Sorrenti was arrested as the investigation progressed and was subsequently released without charge pending analysis of the seized electronic equipment. So we cannot provide a firm date for when it will end."

Sorrenti told Global News that a search warrant was issued indicating police were searching for handguns, ammunition and her computer. showed. Her officers allegedly arrested her, told her she had an illegal firearm, and took her to the police station.

Eventually, all of her streaming her gear and her personal communication devices, as well as her partner's devices It was confiscated and placed in police custody.

"During the search, they seized my work computer, work cell phone, personal cell phone, and my fiancée's work computer and personal cell phone. ' said Sorrenti.

An email sent to a London Municipal Councilman claims that Sorrenti murdered her mother, but this is not true as her mother helped her find a lawyer. . She also claimed that she was going to kill "cis and straight" people on the city council, according to Sorrenti's recall of what police told her.

"Somebody stole your name via anonymous email and just uploaded a picture of your gun and a SWAT team was sent to your house saying you have to look down." It's kind of a scary thought, an assault rifle," said Sorrenti.

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Sorrenti, this doxing is particularly terrifying given that she is a transgender woman and regularly receives death and hate threats.

``I was scared. "It's only been a few days, but sometimes when I think about it, I feel like I'm stuck."

Sorrenti said he was notified of a similar swatting attempt by Toronto police, but police said they were unreliable and did not follow up.

"Apparently there was no communication between the Toronto police and the London police, so they didn't know that the bashing attempt had already taken place," she said.

Global News contacted Toronto police and confirmed that an "investigation is ongoing."

"We can confirm that the report has been filed.  We have contacted investigators," a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service wrote in an email.

Back on March 27, Sorrenti and her family were targeted and exposed with hate online. At the time, she and her brother wanted LPS to be put on a "no-swatting list" that foreshadowed what would eventually happen, but were told that no such list existed.

Global News reached out to her LPS to inquire about possible swatting her listing, but said, "Due to this being an active investigation, we are unable to provide further details. I can't."

London police suspected of transphobia

History of interaction with transgender people and police has led to mistrust of authorities Lacking, Sorrenti said she felt some of the LPS officers' actions were transphobic.

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She's Dead Multiple times, including a police report and her evidence bag confirmed by Global News that said the name. Her dead name was "the real name of a transgender person who changed her name as part of a sex change," and using that name is considered harmful.

However, at the time of her arrest, at least one of her officers asked Sorrenti if she was "she" or a man, she said.

"The police response showed that they knew nothing about transgender people and issues," she said.

After being arrested and placed in the backseat of a police car, Sorrenti claimed that the same officer asked her to do her "trans her 101" class. The reason she identifies as transgender.

READ MORE: "Homophobia is real": B. C. Students say they were attacked for being gay.

Global News asked her LPS about allegations of transphobic behavior but did not receive a response.

Other swatting attempts generally do not result in arrest. Despite having no criminal record and being an online celebrity, Sorrenti is well known both locally in London and on a personal level. She has previously run for state and federal elections, participated in her LGBTQ2 community activism with the City of London, and organized in-person events and community gatherings.

According to Sorrenti, the police have been accused of what she calls a very blatant attempt at docking and swatting. The fact that they are still investigating is strange.

"I don't know how they are looking into this, but for you this is clearly a hate crime," she said.

With the streaming device still in the police archives, Sorrenti opened her GoFundMe to resume streaming so she could continue to make a living, but she's still in the LPS situation. I am traumatized by my response to

"The police made me a victim instead of helping me," she said.

Now that her information is out in the open, Sorrenti is forced to make major changes in her life to avoid further confusion and imitation.

"Putting this out means more people will probably try to do it. We're trying to find a new location soon," she said. rice field.

Ms Sorrenti says her use of LPS is not over yet, and she intends to sue the police once criminal charges are established.

Why was Cephalus beaten?

On Twitch, her Sorrenti, better known as Keffals, is a proud trans woman who advocates for trans rights and often covers news issues through a critical lens. Her presence has led to her being attacked online, reported trolls in high numbers, and suspended her from her Twitch and her Twitter for analyzing the problems facing her trans community. I was.

"They want to kill me. I am a prominent transgender activist and have There are big targets, and transgender people have been at the center of the culture wars over the past year.

Joe Rogan, Dave Chappelle, J.K. Over the past year, Rowling has taken aim at the transgender community. However, Sorrenti said it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to simply be transgender.

"I came out when I was 16. In 2011. But it's worse now than it was then," she said.

There was still hatred based on ignorance, she added, because people at the time simply didn't know what transgender people were. But that hatred has evolved from being steeped in ignorance to being ideological.

"It's targeted now. What's even scarier is that people go out of their way to hurt transgender people. They're the progress we've made as a community." I'm trying to get it back," she said. she said.

Through her Twitch stream, Sorrenti has become a spokesperson for the trans community, particularly a trans who has gone through a job transfer and is trying to assert her identity. She recently said that for the first time a 16-year-old girl contacted her and felt like a normal teen, part of her community.

"These bigots don't want people to improve our community," she said shortly before her collapse.

Sorrenti was visibly shaken by her during the interview, and she cried and wiped her tears repeatedly. did. She hesitated to check her phone after the interview. She was overwhelmed by the support she was receiving, as she feared what would be said about her online. She wrote, "My life is in danger. I need your help," on her YouTube page detailing the incident.

Having a transgender partner and a transgender child Non-binary Amanda Jett Knox is well aware of the growing hatred of the community, and one of the more dangerous tropes Knox knows is to refer to transgender people as “groomers” or “pedophiles.” It is called "a person". This was being done for gays and lesbians alike in the 1980s and her 90s.

"The hate has gotten worse and worse lately. It's really escalating," she said. "There have been many accusations, such as being called a groomer and a pedophile, … and these accusations have actually fueled many attacks."

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Knox said that Sorrenty's growing online presence had led to her has been attacked by right-wing trolls and hatemen because of the community of followers it has nurtured. She has around 40,000 followers on her Twitch and her main Twitter account has her over 112,000 followers.

"Doxing is used as a form of intimidation, so the more you can silence someone with fear, the less they will want to speak up," Knox said. “In these cases, very vocal people, many prominent activists and many community members have been exposed and then silenced for fear of happening again.”

Knox's own transgender child admires and follows Sorrenti, and is aware of what she has to not only her community, but the wider society. I know the value of being able to educate the public about who and what transgender people stand for.

“We need to talk about trans people and queer people being part of society, we are part of society and we have nothing to fear. At least I hope it gets a lot better as time goes on," she said.

Knox hopes for a better future, but Knox believes things could go wrong in the meantime.

``If history has taught us anything, it is that we will get through these really dark days. is the first to get worse," she said.

As for Sorrenti, she is upset and admitted that she will likely remain traumatized in the near future, but she will not be ruled by hatred.

"I will not back down. I know my work is incredibly valuable and thousands of transgender people have come out to their families because of me."

"They try to stop me." Then next time you'd be better off manipulating the police into pulling the trigger."

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