Mike Coffman, the Republican mayor of Aurora, Colorado, released a statement after former President Donald Trump’s rally in the city on Friday, calling remarks about Venezuelan gang activity in his city “grossly exaggerated”, saying they “have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety.”
In a statement sent to Newsweek, Coffman said in part,”Again, the reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity in our city-and our state-have been grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety.”
“The city and state have not been ‘taken over’ or ‘invaded’ or ‘occupied’ by migrant gangs,” read Coffman’s statement, who added that the incidents the city has experienced have been “limited” to a few apartment complexes and police “have acted on those concerns.”
Aurora gained national attention in August after a video circulated online of armed Venezuelan gang members searching through an apartment complex in the city. Trump has latched onto the story as a way to bolster his claims that the Biden administration’s immigration policies have let in violent criminals across the southern border.
“They were rough, the ones that came in,” Trump told supporters during his rally on Friday. He also at one point claimed during the event that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has “infested” buildings in Aurora with gang members.
Coffman said in his statement that there were “thousands of people who attended” Trump’s rally on Friday, “some of whom might have visited Aurora for the first time, who were able to see firsthand the mischaracterizations of our great community.”
“I am disappointed that the former president did not get to experience more of our city for himself,” the mayor added.
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