“As soon as I ended my stream, I saw a message from my friend that just said, ‘Call the police and don’t go outside.’ So I freaked out and ran to the living room and ducked in the corner because I had no idea what was going to happen.”
“I did a seven-hour-long stream where I talked about Kiwi Farms, and the history of it and all the abuse that I’ve faced from that website,” said Sorrenti. “I got banned [from Twitch] because the thumbnail that I used for the title card had slurs in it that were taken from my thread.”The monthlong ban was revoked after a couple of weeks, and at that point Sorrenti simply wanted to get back to her normal streaming, where she discusses trans rights and politics. On August 3, when she started streaming again, Sorrenti didn’t mention the site or its attacks against her, hoping the worst was over.Two days later, armed police showed up at her door while she was asleep.“They told me to put my hands up, and when I get to the door, there are three police officers,” Sorrenti said. “Two of them were standing up and one of them in the middle was crouched down behind a riot shield with an assault rifle perched on top of the shield.”The police were there because they were under the impression that Sorrenti had made threats of violence against lawmakers and members of her own family—threats that were actually made in her name by members of Kiwi Farms. The police arrested her while using her deadname, kept her in custody for 11 hours, and spent eight hours searching her house for a firearm that had been mentioned in the threats but doesn’t exist.Their idea of entertainment involves stalking, harassing, and spreading disinformation.
Murray and Sorrenti were able to show the police news stories about the swatting in Canada that happened weeks prior, and they quickly stood down. Police are now aware of the situation and have put a flag on Murray’s apartment in case further threats are made. Law enforcement in Northern Ireland refused to comment on their investigation into the person who posted the threat outside of Murray’s apartment in Belfast, but a source with knowledge of the investigation told VICE News the police are focusing their investigation on a 16-year-old male from Derry.A source with knowledge of the investigation told VICE News the police are focusing their investigation on a 16-year-old male from Derry.
When someone becomes a specific target on Kiwi Farms, the site’s users create a dedicated thread on the forum. Sorrenti became a target of Kiwi Farms’ hatred in March, and to date her thread, which is filled with lies, disinformation, and Sorrenti’s most personal information, has 2,300 pages and more than 46,500 comments. Near had a thread, as did Chloe Sagal, a trans game developer who died by suicide in 2018.“She made a post on Facebook about how she was suicidal to reach out for help to her friends and family and Kiwi Farms users mass reported it and got her locked out of her account,” Sorrenti said about Sagal. “She ended up lighting herself on fire in a public park.”In the hours after the news broke that Kiwi Farms was no longer online, people once attacked by users shared their stories. “Crazy story: My 9yo trans child was so proud and confident that they ended up on the cover of National Geographic Magazine,” Debi Jackson, a trans rights advocate, tweeted. “But within days, we were doxxed on Kiwi Farms. The kind and gentle folks who call themselves Kiwi Farmers decided that I was a groomer pedophile and that Avery would only be ‘safe’ if they exposed our full names, addresses, cell phone numbers, places of work, etc. ‘to protect the children.’”The hate site has also been allegedly linked to the suicides of at least three people and the vicious harassment of hundreds more.
For now, Sorrenti is taking everything “day-to-day” and trying to take stock of what’s happened to her in the last month. She’s planning to stay in Europe for the next few weeks.“I don’t want to hide anymore, I don’t want to keep running, I’m getting exhausted,” Sorrenti said, adding that she’s getting advice on how to take a break from it all. “I even had Chelsea Manning call me the other day and tell me I need a hobby, I need to go do something that isn’t work.” But no matter where she goes, she knows the threats are likely to continue. “I don’t really think anyone is going to come for me in Belfast but I am still nervous. No matter where I go people are always going to try and track me down and I get threatened every day,” she said. “I’m getting death threats and rape threats and people threatening to come to my house. It’s just insane.”Follow David Gilbert on Twitter.“I don’t want to hide anymore.”