AURORA, Colo. — Former President Donald Trump painted a bleak picture of Colorado’s third-largest city at a rally here Friday as he again claimed it had been overtaken by a Venezuelan prison gang. But the city’s police chief told NBC News that Aurora is still “very safe.”
“It’s not overrun. Without a doubt, Aurora is still a very safe city. It is still a beautiful community that is incredibly diverse,” said Todd Chamberlain. While there is some gang activity, he added, “what we hope to do is make sure that gang doesn’t grow.”
Along the way, Trump has spotlighted a specific Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, after a clip went viral on social media last month claiming the gang had taken over an apartment complex in Aurora. Police said at the time there was no evidence the gang had taken over the complex, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, called Trump’s descriptions “not accurate.”
At his rally Friday, Trump said immigrants coming from “the dungeons of the Third World, from jails and prisons, insane asylums and mental institutions” across the country have preyed on “innocent Americans.”
“And nowhere is that more evident than here,” he continued, “because several apartment complexes in Aurora have been taken over by the brutal prison gang from Venezuela.”
The narrative that immigrants have taken over the US is central to Trump’s re-election campaign. With increasingly inflammatory rhetoric, Trump has seized on other suburban areas with immigrant populations. Last month, he and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, were reprimanded by local leaders after repeatedly claiming that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping and eating pets.
At his rally Friday, Trump said he would save “Aurora and every city that has been invaded.” He announced a plan, called Operation Aurora, to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of TDA and other gangs.
Chamberlain emphasized in his interview with NBC News that he did not want to be involved in a mass deportation effort and that regardless of immigration status, it is law enforcement’s job to bring justice for crimes committed.
“It is not our job to decide whether you have papers or not. Our job is to make sure that if you commit crimes, we hold you accountable, and if you become a victim, we keep you close and give you the support and the things you need,” he said.
Asked to respond to Chamberlain’s comments, the Trump campaign spokesperson pointed to a series of news articles about gang violence that she posted on X.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
