‘Incredibly False Narrative’: Police Chief Hits Back On Trump’s Claim His City Is Overrun By Migrant Gang
Local Colorado news anchor Kyle Clark reported on Monday on former President Donald Trump’s ongoing, widely dunked claim that a migrant gang has taken over parts of Aurora, one of the state’s largest cities.
“The Republicans who lead Aurora still disagree whether a Venezuelan gang currently controls apartment complexes in that city, while Donald Trump continues his attacks on Aurora at a racist and bigoted campaign rally at Madison Square Garden last night,” Clark began on his 9News program.
Aurora’s Republican Mayor Mike Coffman told 9News, “The central question is, is there a problem now? And I don’t believe there is. We did have a problem. There’s no question about it that there was a problem, but there was a law enforcement response to that problem. And I think that there are there are those that would like to, you know, say that we have a problem and run that narrative all the way through the election.”
Clark then played a clip of Aurora’s new Police Chief Todd Chamberlain saying, “This city is not overrun by TDA (Tren de Aragua). This city is not controlled by TDA. I’m going to stand up in front of you right now and say that is an incredibly false narrative. It is a narrative that is not validated or backed up by any statistics, any data, any information.”
Clark added, “Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, who spoke at Trump’s immigration-themed rally in Aurora this month, said that at least two apartments are still under gang control this morning. That is a reversal of Jurinsky’s previous claims that the gangs had fled the properties due to police and media attention.” Jurinsky, a Trump ally, has become a regular fixture on Fox News promoting her claims.
“City spokesman said today that Aurora police are aware of occasional crime there, but can’t substantiate your excuse to claim that the gang currently controls those buildings. Trump has falsely said that the gang conquered Aurora at a rally where speakers disparaged Latinos, Blacks, Jews, and Palestinians. Trump said last night he will liberate Aurora,” continued Clark.
Clark then played a clip of Trump from Sunday night in New York City, saying, “One of the deadliest and most vicious migrant gangs that Kamala has imported into our country is the savage Venezuelan prison gang. Called Tren de Aragua. And that is taking over apartment complexes and unleashing a violent killing spree all over America, especially in Aurora, Colorado, where we have a governor who’s petrified of them. And maybe he should be.”
NBC News took a deep dive into how the now-debunked claims spread through the community, social media, and eventually the GOP presidential nominee.
“The viral rumors used “the most common forms of misinformation” tactics, such as reposting old videos without context, misrepresenting existing data and “frankensteining” together misleading pieces of evidence to fabricate a false narrative, according to the News Literacy Project, a nonprofit fact-checking organization that debunked the rumor,” noted the NBC report.
The debunked claims of the migrant gang taking over apartment buildings in Colorado paralleled those pushed by Trump during the debate regarding Haitian migrants in Ohio eating household pets, which community leaders have also disavowed as baseless.
Watch the clip above.
