said the Republican mayor of Aurora, Colorado. President Donald Trump’s rally On Friday, the city had an opportunity to “show him and the people” that Aurora “is not a city infested with Venezuelan gangs.”
mayor mike coffman The statement was issued on Tuesday following weeks of misleading claims by the former president that the city was a “war zone” infested with Venezuelan gang members.
During the last month presidential debate Speaking to Vice President Kamala Harris, President Trump cited Aurora as evidence that immigrants were “violently” taking over the city. “Look at Aurora, Colorado. They’re taking over towns. They’re taking over buildings,” Trump said.
Coffman said concerns about gang activity are “grossly exaggerated.” “The incident was confined to a few apartment blocks in this city of over 400,000 people,” he said.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said at a Sept. 20 press conference that Aurora was “in no way taken over by Venezuelan gangs.”
At the center of the gang takeover claims is a viral video showing armed men breaking into an Aurora apartment on Aug. 18. Police say the incident led to the shooting death of a 25-year-old man.
A local lawmaker shared the video on Facebook, claiming the gang had taken over “an entire apartment complex” in the city. Coffman shared a screenshot of the video and said the city was working to “request an emergency court order to clear the apartment building where Venezuelan gang activity is occurring.”
Reuters/Isaiah J. Downing
However, after patrolling the complex, the police department said gang members were not occupying the building and residents were not paying rent to the gang. Coffman also visited the building and said tenants said they had no safety concerns but were concerned about “piling up” of trash and a “rodent infestation.”
Coffman said the tenants told him they weren’t paying rent because “the groundskeeper who always collected rent is no longer there.” Coffman said the first report of the gang takeover came from property management company CBZ Management. CBS News reached out to CBZ management but did not receive a response.
The mayor and city council members issued a statement on September 11 saying gang members have not “taken over” the city and that they “want to clear their records.”
Police said as of Sept. 20 they had no information that would lead them to believe the men in the video were gang members.
Chamberlain said crime and gang activity exists in Aurora like any other city. Law enforcement officials said they have created a task force of local, state and federal officials to combat gang activity.
Police authorities said 10 people had ties to the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua, and as of September 11, eight of them had been arrested. But Mr Chamberlain said identifying suspects as gang members was “very complex”, adding: It was a “fight”.
“What I really want to make sure about this whole discussion is that this is focused on criminal activity, not immigration status,” Chamberlain said. Ta.
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