Popular Trans Canadian Twitch streamer raided

Clara Sorrenti is a lifelong London, Ontario resident that makes her living streaming to 43 thousand followers on Twitch. She also has over 100 thousand followers on Twitter under the name Keffals.

However, Sorrenti best known for her passionate activism for trans rights – debunking common anti-trans talking points live online.

But it may have been that work that led someone to impersonate her in an email and make violent threats to local London politicians.

“I had my identity stolen and I was swatted. And the way it was crafted ended up bringing up the prejudice in some of the police officers in London Police Service,” explained Sorrenti.

“When I got to the front door, there were three police officers. One of them was kneeling, holding a riot shield, with an assault rifle perched on top of it, pointed at me. They pulled me out into the hallway and arrested me – telling me I was under arrest for threats as well as possession of an illegal firearm.”

Throughout questioning, London police officers used Sorrenti’s former name – a practice known as deadnaming among trans people. Sorrenti legally changed her name over a decade ago and has even run for parliament under her current name – making the experience especially frustrating.

“I don’t understand the thought process, because my fiancée said they were banging on the door saying ‘Clara Sorrenti I know you’re in there’ – but I got booked under my deadname,” she explained.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, London police Chief Steve Williams acknowledged the distress caused by this, and says what happened will be reviewed – but didn’t apologize.

Sorrenti says the police hate crime unit told her Tuesday, that property seized during the raid will be returned. But there are still questions about how this happened – especially as Sorrenti had previously been doxxed and asked to be placed on a police no-swatting list.

“They just told me there was no such thing in London as a no-swatting list, that we would be fine, and they have to investigate matters as they’re reported.”

Now, Sorrenti says she’s planning to move to another Canadian city, saying she doesn’t have faith that this wouldn’t happen again in London. She notes that a similar hoax about her was reported to Toronto police, but was cleared up with a phone call. As for her activism, Sorrenti says she has no plans to change.

“If there are any trans people who end up listening to this, never back down. Ever. Because that’s how people win. They wanted me to back down, so I stood up for myself. And I saw so much outpouring of support. And I’m really glad about it. And I hope in the future we can end up winning more fights like this.”

-With files from Xiao Li