Congresswoman Lauren Boebert Hosts Roundtable Discussion on Alleged Gang Activity in Aurora

DENVER — Congresswoman Lauren Boebert hosted a community roundtable on Friday to discuss recent reports of gang and criminal activity at apartment complexes in Aurora. Denver7 has been keeping you updated on the matter since city officials shut down one of the complexes due to a long list of code violations, which the property management company blamed on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Since then, Denver7 has reported on Aurora’s efforts to investigate the gang’s presence in the area, with the city cooperating with federal authorities after “elements” of the gang were found to be operating in the metro area. Most recently, Denver7 reported on the arrest of three additional suspects with confirmed or suspected ties to the Venezuelan gang.

Nationally, Aurora has become a talking point for politicians wanting to discuss U.S. immigration policy.

Boebert, the gun-toting Republican who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, hosted the roundtable at Aurora City Hall with Texas Congressman Chip Roy, also a Republican.

The roundtable lasted approximately 90 minutes and included representatives from state, local governments and concerned citizens.

As U.S. Representative for the 3rd Congressional District, Boebert does not represent any part of Aurora, nor would she represent the neighborhoods where the apartment complexes are located if she is elected to the 4th Congressional District in November.

But Boebert has shown interest in recent developments, with Friday’s roundtable being the latest example.

“The purpose of this meeting was to get information out to the people of Colorado, because unfortunately the media has done the opposite,” Boebert said. “They want to cover this up and call it a conspiracy.”

Cindy Romero told the roundtable that as a tenant at the Edge at Lowry apartments in Aurora, she lived in constant fear every night.

“If you don’t know what it feels like to be a minority in your own home, I’m telling you, it’s terrifying,” Romero said.

Romero said she was the one who shot a video showing armed men in the apartment complex, which has since gone viral.

“I saw them moving the guns that morning, I called and reported it,” Romero said. “I have cameras that capture them moving the guns from one building to another.”

Aurora apartment residents say Venezuelan gang story is false

The roundtable was held on the same day that Boebert, Roy and U.S. Reps. Greg Lopez and Doug Lamborn, also Republicans, sent a letter to Gov. Jared Polis, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, the director of the FBI, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the deputy executive director of Homeland Security Investigations.

The letter asked them to provide responses about Tren de Aragua’s (TdA) activities in Colorado and the role nonprofits may have played in attracting immigrants to the state.

They cited several allegations from Denver law firm Perkins Coie, whose attorneys said they investigated “widespread criminal conduct” at Whispering Pines Apartments.

The law firm also claimed to have found evidence of gang members committing a variety of crimes, including “egregious violations of trespassing, assault, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful possession of weapons, extortion, and other criminal activity, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations.”

Attorneys for the firm say it represents the apartment complex’s lender.

The law firm’s findings were detailed in a letter sent Aug. 9 to Aurora’s interim police chief, the mayor and the city manager.

“The city received the letter and immediately incorporated it into its ongoing investigative work,” an Aurora police spokesperson said, adding that the city “will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute any criminal activity reported on or related to CBZ management properties.”

However, APD would not say whether the law firm’s claims are true.

“This is an impartial law firm that has come out with this. This is information that has been verified. It is impartial,” Boebert said when asked why she cited the law firm’s letter to federal officials and whether she had any evidence beyond the letter.

She also accused the media of trying to cover up the law firm’s report.

“Why the media would want to debunk something and just cover it up as if it were some kind of conspiracy, instead of actually going in and helping the people of Colorado and doing everything they can to expose the criminal activity and the violence that’s happening and the damage that’s being done, is why we’re here today,” Boebert said. “We have a media that wants to cover up anything that doesn’t fit the narrative of wide open borders, anything that fits the asylum policy that’s been put forward by the Democrats in office here in Colorado.”

On Friday, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said he visited with tenants at the apartment complexes on Dallas and Helena Streets.

He said he believes the property’s managers fled because of “problems with Venezuelan gangs,” but he does not believe gangs are in control of any of the complexes.

“At this point, I agree with Interim Commissioner Heather Morris’ assessment that a Venezuelan gang does not have control over either of these two apartment complexes,” Coffman said.

Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky and Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock also participated in the roundtable, along with State Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park; State Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland; and State Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker.