Hate Crime or Jussie Smollet Redux? The Case of Transgender Woman Angelina Bouros

Angelina Bouros is a transgender woman who was recently the star of a report by the hard left activist organization “Now This”. The report shows neighbors coming together to paint Bouros’ New York State home in rainbow colors in defiance of “hate” after a horrific attack on her cat, in which the sweet animal was cut in half, following a string of letters ostensibly written because Bouros is transgender. An investigation by RAIR Foundation USA has led to some serious questions of Bouros’ account.

On June 22, 2019, Bouros posted a graphic, cringe-worthy image of her mutilated cat on Twitter, where it remains as her pinned tweet as of February 1, 2020.

According to the NowThis report dated January 24, 2020, Bouros claimed that she received the first of four letters on July 31, 2017. The author of the most recent letter takes responsibility for the brutal murder of Bouro’s cat Rambo and threatens further harm to the woman formerly known as “Paul Bouros”.

“On October 1, 2019 I received my 4th piece of hate mail,” Bouros claims in a post on Facebook (archived here) dated January 28, 2020. “They took responsibility for killing Rambo and are now threatening to blow my house up.” She continues to say that she did not post the letter sooner “because the state police are still investigating but too much time is going by.”

An article published in a local publication dated Aug 25, 2017 by Patricia Doxsey titled “Transgender woman in Rosendale not deterred by hateful message” explains that someone left “a hateful and obscenity-laced letter on her property one day while she [Angelina Bouros] was at work.”

The author explains that the letter was “found by a friend staying at her home,” and stated in part:

“I just found out that you used to be a man, and pretty good looking too, and now you are a woman. You FREAK! Your (sic) a disgrace to the neighborhood, thank god we live way up the road away from you and we don’t have to see you everyday. Your (sic) a f—king freak, all of you gays who fly those stupid rainbow flags are all freaks.”

The August 2017 news report continues to reveal that Rosendale Police Chief Perry Soule said they “are investigating the incident as a hate crime.” Since then, it appears that the case has shifted to the New York State Police jurisdiction, as clarified after inquiries by RAIR Foundation USA.

Problematic Elements of the Bouros Story

One of the most obvious problematic elements of this story is that the perpetrator has been able to repeatedly leave letters at Bouros’ residence undetected, despite that, according to Doxsey, Bouros “…set out to get to know her neighbors, knocking on each and every door on her street, letting them know who she was and what someone had said about her.” As noted above, the first letter was “found by a friend staying at her home,” indicating that the letters were dropped off and not sent through the mail.

The neighbors, according to the article, were “overwhelmingly supportive and showed her the real meaning of love and acceptance.” Doesn’t it seem odd, then, that in two and a half years, several hate letters and a cat murdered in the back yard never caught anyone’s attention?

If Bouros was determined to catch the individual leaving letters at her house, why would she not have put up cameras to catch the perpetrator in the act the first moment a threatening letter arrived?

Furthermore, the police have been investigating the alleged hate crime, and have come up short despite years of threatening letters being dropped off at the house. The perpetrator is a neighbor, according to the letters. How many people have been questioned by police? Have they been taking handwriting samples of Bouros’ neighbors? Did they take DNA samples from the letters? Did they take DNA samples from the scene of the crime where the cat was murdered in the back yard?

Speaking of handwriting analysis, RAIR Foundation USA took a look through Angelina Bouros’ social media in search of handwriting samples of those closest to Bouros to compare them with the October 1st letter. Shockingly, RAIR found a letter posted December 6, 2018 (archive here) on Facebook by Bouros herself. Bouros was bragging that she left a note to “Kingston parking enforcement” for letting the meter run out. Here is the October 1st letter, side by side with a close up of the post it:

RAIR does not by any means claim to be an expert in handwriting analysis, but one cannot help but notice that there are some similarities. Both letters underline “you,” for example. Also, in the first “you” below #1, the “y” is curved, as it is the sample #2. The sample #2 has a slight connection between the “ou”, as it does in the “ou” in #3.

As mentioned, RAIR contacted the Rosendale police department for an update on the case as mentioned above and was told the case “is being handled by the New York State Police”. Diane Pineiro Zucker of the Daily Freeman also reached out to police, writing in an article posted Wednesday that police spokesman Trooper Steven Nevel confirmed that the October 1, 2019 letter posted above is “part of an ongoing investigation,” but declined to comment further.

The Daily Freeman article revealed that a “forensic examination [of the cat] has shown that all tissues were jagged and torn, and this tearing was done after the cat was already deceased [author emphasis].” The killing of the cat appears to have been particularly vicious. It is quite difficult to comprehend. It is also unclear whether the top half of the cat was ever found.

Also revealing is the attention-seeking nature of the alleged victim, Angelina Bouros. The immediate response to the first letter was to knock “on every door” on her street, according to Patricia Doxsey’s 2017 article. Bouros’ response to the heinous murder of her cat was to throw a party to paint her house. She has her mutilated cat posted as her “pinned Tweet.” Everyone has their own ways of coping, and perhaps Bouros just feels the need for reassurance. But this author would take this character trait into consideration as a potential motive.

There is also a trend of people who happen to be activists as being victims. A recent example of this is the alleged attack on trans activist Serena Daniari, where she claims a couple “hurled trans-phobic slurs” at her and “slapped Daniari’s phone out of her hand,” according to an article posted at the New York Daily News. Again, this is not to say that there is a connection, but it most certainly is a trend.

Angelina Bouros, as noted below, is involved in the Ulster County Human Rights Task Force, which drafted the Ulster County Human Rights Protection Act of 2018.

Ulster County Human Rights Protection Act of 2018

Ironically, Bouros claims to have been part of a task force that drafted the Ulster County Human Rights Protection Act of 2018, which claims to protect citizens from discrimination due to, among other things, “gender ‘including gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgender status'”.

Angelina Bouros posted a photo of herself with another one of the authors of the legislation, Jeff Rindler, on Facebook.

Jeff Rindler was quoted at the local government website, “I am proud to serve on the Human Rights Commission and was honored to be a part of the group that drafted the law that will allow Ulster County to ‘take care of their own’ by offering skilled mediation and – if necessary –damages to settle a dispute.” At first glance, this appears to be a dangerous law that would allow unelected activists to strong-arm people for “damages” or be faced with public shaming.

According to the government report, a “diverse coalition of local clergy, community organizations and advocates including the Ulster County NAACP and Council of Churches formed…urging the Legislature to pass the law.” It is unclear whether the new law has been effective in stopping discrimination, or whether “discrimination” was a problem in Ulster County in the first place, which is unlikely.