A trans-identified male from Colorado is seeking asylum in Canada on the basis of his gender identity. Daria Bloodworth arrived in Canada in 2019 after claiming to have been the victim of “transphobic” crime in the United States.
Bloodworth applied for refugee status in Canada, seeking protection on the basis of transphobic persecution by Americans, American society generally, and specific individuals including a debt collector and a former roommate at Colorado State University.
In his asylum application, Bloodworth claimed that he was the victim of a transphobia-motivated crime in May of 2019 after his roommate brandished a gun at him while making transphobic statements. The asylum application states that Bloodworth feared for his life after a court refused to grant him a protective order following the incident.
“With no protection orders in place, Ms. Bloodworth states the roommate stalked her, including by standing outside her residence with a gun, and he pursued her despite changing residences twice.Ms. Bloodworth states she called the police or went to the police station to report events of stalking behaviour, but did not receive protection. She was told her former roommate had the right to open carry a firearm. Eventually, she stopped calling the police,” the Citizenship and Immigration case reads.
Reduxx has reviewed bodycam footage showing the Fort Collins Police Service responding to the purported transphobic incident in 2019.
The 2-hour long video starts by showing Bloodworth being interviewed by police at the station after coming to report the crime himself. In the interview, the three police officers appear visibly confused and express difficulty in understanding Bloodworth’s account of events after he claims his roommate had threatened him “with a gun.” His story appears to change somewhat every time an officer asks him to clarify details of his claims.
Following the initial interview with Bloodworth, police go to the residence to speak with the roommate, a young male who identifies himself as a military veteran. The man reveals that Bloodworth had been a problem roommate as he did not pay his bills, frequently stole from the other residents, and would often come home in the middle of the night without informing the others he would be out.
This had led to concerns about the roommate’s PTSD being triggered, as he would often be woken up at early hours to find the front door handle being jiggled and become anxious, unsure if the home was being broken into.
The roommate says that they had been struggling with Bloodworth’s behavior for months and actively attempting to evict him from the residence. He explains that an argument had finally broken out that day after his frustration reached a tipping point with respect to Bloodworth’s conduct. Specifically, Bloodworth’s lack of financial contribution to the household, and his tendency to come home during the night with no notice or consideration for his roommate’s anxiety.
“I said — there’s a gun in the basement, you could get shot not addressing coming home at 4 in the morning through the door I sleep 30 feet from. Could you at least give us a heads up [when you are coming home]? Can you not be weird and sneaky like this?” the roommate says to police, obviously exasperated.
“So you were saying, ‘if I don’t know you’re coming home at 4 in the morning, you could end up getting shot?” police clarified.
“Yes! Because it’s kind of crazy,” the roommate insisted. “I just want a heads up.”
“So you don’t think you are getting burglarized, right?” the officer asks, to which the roommate says “yes.”
The roommate notes there was an old hunting rifle in the home’s basement, but said it was not loaded and there was no ammunition in the residence.
During the police interview, the roommate refers to Bloodworth by “she/her” pronouns and his preferred name. He also calls Bloodworth a “woman” at various points during the interview. This calls into question Bloodworth’s claims to both police and Canadian immigration officials that he had been subjected to a transphobia-motivated crime.
The roommate also states that Bloodworth had frequently become enraged at the other residents in the home when they requested he pay his portion of the bills, and suggests that Bloodworth threatened to sue them for “pain and suffering” when they changed the WiFi password.
The young man later concedes to having been wrong to refer to the gun in the basement during their argument, and calmly offers himself up to any charges. The case against him would be dismissed less than two months later.
Though Bloodworth told Canadian immigration officials that the roommate “open carried” a gun, the roommate told police he did not own one himself. Bloodworth also stated that the roommate later “stalked” him, but there is no substantiation to support that claim. However, following the “threats” incident, Bloodworth repeatedly posted the roommate’s full name to social media, along with videos showing his face.
Bloodworth continued to live and work in Colorado until November of 2019, when he arrived in Canada and filed for refugee protection.
In October of 2022, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) rejected Bloodworth’s claim for asylum, determining he had adequate rights and protection back in the United States. He then appealed the decision, and the Refugee Appeals Division (RAD) ruled in his favor.
RAD member Dilani Mohan concluded that “the RPD failed to consider how Colorado’s open carry gun laws combined with the general climate of anti-trans hatred growing in the US could make [her] perpetually vulnerable and at risk to her life.”
Mohan also noted high rates of “discrimination and violence” in Maine, New Jersey, Illinois and Nevada and said that while New York City might be an option, the move would force Bloodworth into poverty.
“The RPD failed to consider how Colorado’s open carry gun laws combined with the general climate of anti-trans hatred growing in the US could make [her] perpetually vulnerable and at risk to her life,” Mohan wrote.
But Bloodworth’s victory was short-lived, as this week, a Federal Court ruled that the RAD incorrectly claimed that Colorado authorities were incapable of protecting Bloodworth, or that he couldn’t safely reside elsewhere in the United States.
Bloodworth — who now lives in the Yukon Territory — says he plans to appeal the ruling to the Federal Court of Appeal in hopes of being formally granted refugee status.
Since arriving in Canada, Bloodworth has changed his legal name from Véronique Marie Bellamy in an apparent effort to obscure his identity in the event his immigration attempts did not go in his favor.
On his My Little Pony-themed social media feed, Bloodworth advertises himself as an “exile from America” and an “author of queer fiction.” He states he is “trying to pursue a quick bachelor’s degree to be able to get into medical school,” and is also investing in cryptocurrency in an effort to make enough money to fund his gender transition.
Bloodworth claims to have been fired by TD Canada Trust bank in 2023 for being a “whistleblower” but it is unclear what he blew the whistle on. His LinkedIn shows he worked at the company for approximately 1 year as a Lead Customer Experience Associate.
His social media feed includes snipes at Harry Potter author JK Rowling and those who participated in last year’s march against gender ideology.
In July of 2023, Bloodworth credited seeing the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies with providing him motivation to continue fighting for refugee status in Canada.
https://reduxx.info/transgender-american-seeking-refugee-status-in-canada-due-to-transphobia/