Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday — a city that became the focus of a far-right hoax that Venezuelan gang members were taking over. And the city's Republican mayor is again speaking out against the MAGA.
Mike Coffman, who previously served in Congress before being turfed out in the 2018 Democratic wave, has criticized Trump's misrepresentations of the gang activity in Aurora and did so once again in a statement responding to Trump's rally.
"There were thousands of people who attended the rally today, some of whom might have visited Aurora for the first time, who were able to see firsthand the mischaracterizations of our great community," said Coffman in a statement. "I am disappointed that the former president did not get to experience more of our city for himself."
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"I cannot overstate enough that nothing was said today that has not been said before and for which the city has not responded with facts," Coffman continued. "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. The incidents that have occurred in Aurora, a city of 400,000 people, have been limited to a handful of specific apartment complexes, and our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns and will continue to do so."
Police have had to come out in the past and clarify that even the idea gangs were taking over apartments was highly exaggerated at best.
This comes as Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, have also come under fire for pushing another false claim that Haitian migrants working in Springfield have been eating people's pets.
