Lauren Boebert’s Attempt to Mimic Trump’s Gang Claims Backfires

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert struggled to substantiate her extreme allegations about the alleged takeover of an apartment building in her home state of Colorado by a Venezuelan gang.

Last week, right-wing media and former President Donald Trump claimed that Tren de Aguas, a Venezuelan gang, had taken over The Edge, a residential building in Aurora, Colorado. After investigating the rumors, Aurora police decided to certain that the complex had not been taken over by a gang.

During a press conference, residents of Edge responded to the right-wing claims, saying they were uninhabitable conditions as a result of negligence by CBZ Management, which was also responsible for another Aurora building where a mass expulsion last month, according to Denver7.

Boebert held a community roundtable last week with Texas Representative Chip Roy to discuss the gang presence in Aurora, Colorado. Although Boebert does not represent any Aurora residents, the far-right anti-immigrant The Republicans took a special interest in this suddenly salient issue.

During the roundtable, Boebert discussed a recent report from Denver law firm Perkins Coie that alleged Tren de Aguas had a “stranglehold” on another apartment complex served by CBZ Management, called Whispering Pines, five miles from The Edge. According to CBSThe report was first sent to Aurora’s top executives in early August.

The report, prepared on behalf of a lender, alleged that gang members at Whispering Pines committed a variety of crimes, including “egregious violations of restraining orders, 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.”

Boebert, Roy and several other Republican lawmakers then sent a letter Friday to several U.S. officials, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray, insisting they had “corroborated” the report’s many claims.

But as Kyle Clark of Next9 News pointed out, allegations of sexual abuse of minors were seemingly new and unrelated to recent arrests in the area. Clark explained that the report relied on an “anonymous third-hand claim” to make that assertion.

When asked how she was able to confirm the sexual abuse of minors by gang members in Aurora, Boebert could not give a clear answer.

“This is an impartial uh, law firm that has come out with this. This is information that has been, has been verified. It is impartial. And it is our most evident form of allegations that have been presented with ‘Tren de Aragua’ here in Aurora, Colorado,” Boebert said.

Boebert then claimed that even asking about the matter was tantamount to a media cover-up.

NEW: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) says it’s “confirmed” that a Venezuelan gang is involved in child sex abuse in Aurora. The claim first surfaced two days ago as an anonymous third-hand account. When asked for her evidence, Boebert claimed there was a media cover-up. #copolitics photo.twitter.com/SVl7IidIYo

—Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) September 7, 2024