Activists say a racist, homophobic, antisemitic rant at an Aurora City Council meeting highlights a divide that has grown amid national attention on reported Venezuelan gang activity in the city.
During Monday's meeting, a person who called into the meeting repeatedly used hateful language when describing immigrants in the city.
“It’s brutal to sit here and listen to, like, this Marxist communist after another," said the person.
The person insulted people with brown skin and used antisemitic and homophobic slurs when referencing Gov. Jared Polis.
"People like me are getting pissed off, the people who they keep calling white supremacists," the person said. "That’s right, that’s exactly what I am."
Demonstrators gathered Wednesday in Denver's City Park to demand that the Aurora City Council cut off hateful commentary during meetings and put other safeguards in place.
"It scared me," said Ana Sosa, who attended the meeting. "I was fearful. I was angry, and I just, I couldn't believe it."
Aurora
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Demonstrators were concerned that the hateful comments were influenced by national attention on the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
"This spark to this was Danielle Jurinsky," said Auon’tai Anderson, who led the demonstration. "She's the reason why this hate is starting to come into this community."
Aurora City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky has spoken with national news outlets, sharing claims that Venezuelan gang members have "taken over" apartment buildings in the city.
"Her comments of saying that immigrants have taken over apartment complexes have sparked racial tension across our city and across the country," said Anderson.
Denver7 reached out to Jurinsky for comment, and we're awaiting a response.
Demonstrators demanded anti-racism education for city officials and employees, as well as more protections to prevent hate speech in public forums.
"You don't let them continue their comments," said Anderson. "You cut them off."
Anderson also called on the council to denounce the hateful remarks.
While the caller's words did scare Sosa, she said she will not let that kind of behavior stop her from attending council meetings.
"I'm not going to stop coming to these meetings," said Sosa. "I'm not going to let fear keep me from being a part of this."
Politics
Trump referenced Aurora gang activity during the debate. Aurora responded.
Former President Donald Trump mentioned Aurora in his opening statement during Tuesday's presidential debate.
On Wednesday, Denver7 asked Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman about Trump's claims and another wave of national attention on the city. He said the situation in Aurora has been blown out of proportion.
"There's no question there have been some issues, but it's been so dramatically exaggerated that it’s the entire city being overrun by criminal or gang activity," Coffman told Denver7. "That couldn’t be further from the truth."
City officials in Aurora also released a joint statement in response.
"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," read a joint statement by Aurora's mayor, city manager, public safety chair and police department. "TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true."
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