Right-wing media outlets have turned an uncertain story that a Venezuelan gang “commandeered” apartments in Aurora, Colorado, into a lie that gangs are “taking over” and have fully “overrun” the city of 390,000 people.
Molly Butler / Media Matters
Research/Study
Colorado media are fighting against the right-wing smear that a Venezuelan gang has “taken over” the city of Aurora
Written by Casey Wexler & Sage Hodil
Published
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A right-wing claim about an apartment complex ballooned to smear a whole city
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- Since 2023, Aurora has reportedly been trying to force CBZ Management to fix multiple derelict apartment complexes which the company has claimed that it could not repair due to activity by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. CBZ Management’s claims of gang violence gained traction in right-wing media after a video went viral showing a group of armed men in one of the buildings. Aurora police have since claimed that they have identified and arrested multiple TdA members, but it’s unknown if these arrests are connected to the viral footage. [The New York Times, 9/15/23]
- In August, right-wing media eagerly jumped on the video and claims of gang violence to promote a narrative of migrant crime. Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy stated that Tren de Aragua had “commandeered this building.” Fox host Greg Gutfeld said that the Venezuelan gang was “capturing and holding territory in America,” adding, “This is literally an invasion.” [Media Matters, 7/16/24; Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/30/24; Fox News, The Five, 8/29/24]
- Pushing back on these claims, the city of Aurora has said that incidents of gang violence are largely isolated and law enforcement has been taking action. In a statement the city wrote, “As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it. TdA has not ‘taken over’ the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months.” [City of Aurora, 9/11/24]
- Several residents of the buildings owned by CBZ Management have also pushed back on the narratives proliferating in right-wing media. Some tenants have said claims about crime in their apartment complexes are being used to spread “false anti-immigrant and anti-Venezuelan narratives” and that “reports of gang activity have also led to acts of xenophobia and racism from the community.” [CBS News, 9/4/24]
- During the September 10 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump escalated the narrative of gang activity from a few buildings to whole cities, claiming “they are taking over the towns.” Trump continued, “They are taking over buildings. They are going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality. And we have to get them out. We have to get them out fast.” During a September 24 campaign stop, Trump doubled down and claimed that migrant gangs would “take over the whole damn state.” [KVDR, 9/10/24; Mediaite, 9/24/24]
- This misinformation about Venezuelan gangs in Aurora comes as right-wing media and Trump have both pushed the racist lie that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), has also spread this smear campaign, which has been widely debunked. [NBC, 9/10/24; Media Matters, 9/18/24]
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Colorado media debunked that gangs are “taking over” the whole city
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- Denver’s 9News called the allegation that Tren de Aragua is taking over Aurora “a false claim” and previewed a Trump visit to the city and pushback on the story from city leaders. [9News, 9/19/24]
- 9News again debunked the claims about Aurora being overrun in a report on Trump claiming that gangs would take over the whole state of Colorado if he is not elected. Anchor Kyle Clark reported, “Donald Trump’s claims about a Venezuelan gang in Aurora are getting even more outlandish now extending to the rest of Colorado. Three weeks ago Trump falsely claimed on the national debate stage that a migrant gang has taken over Aurora. … But Trump continues to focus on Aurora on the campaign trail, with increasing exaggeration.” [9News, 9/24/24]
- Denver Fox station KDVR published an article titled “‘Simply not true’: Aurora leaders dispute claims Venezuelan gang has ‘taken over’ city.” The piece features an interview with Republican City Council member Danielle Jurinsky, who said, “Listen, if the entire city had been taken over, I would have left with my family.” [KDVR, 9/12/24]
- A Denver Post article acknowledged that while some gang violence is occuring, Tren de Aragua isn’t “taking over” a city of 400,000. The Post wrote, “Aurora police named the Tren de Aragua members and detailed the charges against them after former President Donald Trump twice mentioned Aurora during Tuesday night's nationally televised debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump falsely claimed that violent immigrants ‘are taking over the towns,’ further fueling a false narrative that members of the Venezuelan gang have overrun Aurora, a city of 400,000 people.” The article also details that while crimes were committed at apartment complexes, “The allegations do not include evidence of broad, organized, systemic gang-led extortion or control at the apartment complexes.” [The Denver Post, 9/12/24]
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Despite pushback on the narrative from local officials and residents, right-wing media claimed migrant gangs are “taking over” Aurora
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- Newsmax host John Bachman pushed the white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory and claimed “violent gangs are taking over communities” like Aurora. As the viral video of armed men in an apartment complex in Aurora played, Bachman stated, “Illegal migrants are replacing U.S. citizens all over America. Remember when they told you that was a conspiracy theory? Violent gangs are taking over communities.” The white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory claims that nonwhite immigrants are intentionally being brought in to replace white people in the United States and other countries. [Newsmax, Prime News, 9/24/24; Media Matters, 1/12/24]
- On Glenn Beck’s show, conservative radio host Jason Whitlock claimed there are “Venezuelan gangs taking over neighborhoods and communities.” Whitlock based his claim on the Netflix show Narcos, saying, “I watch it now or I remember it now and think holy cow, we’re just like that. The corruption, the criminals are actually — we’ve got Venezuelan gangs taking over neighborhoods and communities and we have politicians doing nothing about it.” Whitlock also pushed the great replacement conspiracy theory directly, saying that he would use his upcoming show to teach listeners about it. [The Blaze,The Glenn Beck Show, 9/5/24]
- Previewing an interview with Aurora’s mayor, Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj claimed that a “Venezuelan gang [is] taking over his city.” Over the viral video of armed men in the apartment complex, Curanaj asked viewers, “Does this look like America or an apartment complex in a Third World country?” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 8/30/24; NPR, 9/23/24]
- Speaking to Trump adviser Jason Miller, Newsmax co-host Sharla McBride claimed that “Aurora, Colorado, has been overrun with those Venezuelan gangs.” McBride added that “you’re not seeing that with mainstream media, they’re trying to push that under the rug.” [Newsmax, Wake Up America, 9/19/24]
- On his radio show, Fox prime-time host Sean Hannity explicitly claimed gangs are “taking over cities like Aurora, Colorado.” Hannity claimed, “The fact that Americans are being murdered, raped, victims of violent crime, that we have gangs taking over cities like Aurora, Colorado, like this town in Ohio that we’ve heard so much about.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 9/12/24]
- OutKick founder and host Clay Travis said immigrants, including those in Aurora, were “coming in and taking over these communities.” Travis said his wife asked, “Have you seen what's going on in Springfield, Ohio? Have you seen what's going on in Aurora? Have you seen what's going on all over the country where all of these immigrants are coming in and taking over these communities? You need to do something about it.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Clay and Buck Show, 9/10/24]
- Speaking to OutKick’s Buck Sexton, former Fox host Megyn Kelly claimed that Aurora was “overrun” and “overwhelmed” by “these migrants that have been shipped there by the Biden administration.” According to Kelly, “They created a magnet is what they did, Buck. And now the citizens of Aurora, Colorado are overrun, and what's happening in Springfield, Ohio is equally disturbing. We're now spent three days arguing about whether cats are being killed. There are testimonials that they are. The city manager says it's not true.” [The Megyn Kelly Show, 9/13/23]
- Anti-LGBTQ influencer account “Libs of TikTok” tweeted, “Residents in Aurora, Colorado are being forced to flee their homes as migrant gangs take over the city. Meanwhile the Governor said the gang takeover is in your imagination.” Multiple bomb threats to schools, public libraries, hospitals, and Planet Fitness gyms have previously followed Libs of TikTok's anti-LGBTQ campaign. [Twitter/X, 9/2/24, Media Matters, 4/5/24; 11/2/23]