Colorado gov. claims Aurora's migrant gang takeover is just 'imagination' despite video, local leaders' outcry and residents fleeing their homes

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Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has denied that migrant gangs have taken over apartment buildings in Aurora - despite video evidence and a local leader's outcry.

The heavily-armed mob was seen on video storming through an apartment complex while brandishing at least one semi-automatic weapon. A man in a hoodie lugs the high-powered rifle and pounds on an apartment door, while several others wield handguns.

'A GANG HAS TAKEN OVER several apartment complexes in Aurora!' local council member Danielle Jurinsky wrote on X.

But Polis said the migrant takeover is just a figment of her 'imagination.'

'The governor ha already let the mayor know that the state is ready to support the local police department with assistance from state troopers and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,' Shelby Wieman, a spokeswoman for the governor, told the New York Post.

'But according to police intelligence, this purported invasion is largely a feature of Danielle Jurinsky's imagination.'

The spokesperson went on to say that 'it is illegal to take over buildings in Colorado' and if Jurinsky has 'knowledge of such activity' the governor's office is 'ready to assist cops in taking them back.'

When the Post asked again whether Polis wants to backtrack his statement, given the video evidence of the takeover, Wieman said the governor 'really hopes that the city council members in charge stop trashing their own city when they are supposed to keep it safe.

'Over the last month, Gov. Polis has been in regular contact with the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department and has offered all state assistance to support their efforts if requested,' she said, adding that the governor's office expects to see violent crime continue to drop in the city, as it had in 2022 and 2023.

But both residents and city officials say they have been suffering ever since the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang arrived in the city. It is now believed the gang is behind the apartment takeovers.

In July, the migrant gang was also blamed for a shooting in a Target parking lot.

'Those Venezuelans is taking over,' a man can be heard saying in a video posted to TikTok by user 100packsavvy.

The July 29 footage shows bedlam in a Target parking lot in Aurora where Venezuelans had gathered in a weekend demonstration over the elections in their homeland.

While mostly peaceful, migrants swarmed the shopping center, completely taking it over, with cars sardined, bumper-to-bumper.

This forced Target and other retailers in the area to close early, fearing their customers might get caught up in the demonstrations, according to Telemundo Denver.

As night fell, the trashed parking lot littered with garbage turned from disgusting to dangerous.

Police responded to several incidents, including gun shots being fired, the Spanish-speaking outlet reported.

The TikTok users who made recorded the video claimed he and his companions were almost run over.

'We almost just got hit,' one man says.

The Aurora couple who filmed the apartment takeover on Wednesday, Cindy and Edward Romero, also told Fox 31 that it was recorded shortly before a shootout at the complex - which left one person grievously wounded and damaged several vehicles were also damaged.

'It's been a nightmare, and I can't wait to get out of here,' Cindy Romero said as she packed up her possessions to flee the crime-torn city.

The couple had placed an elaborate system of locks running from the top of the door to the bottom before the shooting.

'Every day when we come home, we have to do this every time we go outside to take out the garbage,' Cindy said, demonstrating how the locks worked.

'Every time we go to bed at night. We have to keep like this so that nobody can kick in the door,' she added.

Cops have refused to confirm whether the gunmen in the video from the apartment complex belong to the infamous Tren de Aragua cartel, but council member Jurinksy told Fox 31 that the building had been overrun by a Venezuelan gang.

'This isn't just Americans. Other Venezuelans are being extorted by this gang," Jurinsky said.

The Aurora police department released a statement Wednesday confirming that they are investigating the chilling footage from the apartment takeover.

The authorities noted that they had launched a special task force 'in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal activity.'

The cops said confirmed that they were 'aware that components of TdA are operating in Aurora.'

They added that they have been 'increasingly collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes in the area.'

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman also told FOX News on Thursday there are 'several buildings' that have 'fallen to these Venezuelan gangs' in the city.

He said he believed the buildings were used as taxpayer-funded migrant housing, which is what gave the gangs a foothold.

'This is an organized criminal effort,' the Republican mayor said. 'Whether it's a trend, a drug war, that remains to be seen.

'They've, in fact, have kind of pushed out the property management through intimidation and then collected the rents.'

Coffman claimed the city is a 'victim' of federal policy and Denver's sanctuary city policy.

'I think we're a victim of a failed policy at the southern border,' he said, arguing: 'Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States in criminal histories.

'You've had these massive waves of migrants coming across the border that many of them crossed the border illegally, we were arrested, asked for a political asylum, were not adequately vetted, were released into the country, the city of Aurora.

'We did everything we could to quite frankly, keep them out of the city because it's not our problem. This is a federal problem.'

Under the Biden administration - which appointed Vice President Kamala Harris its 'border czar' - illegal immigration into the US ballooned into 8million crossings. It is now expected to rise to 10million by the end of September.

The migrant crisis has since moved into the city, with more than 40,000 reportedly arriving to the Denver area since December 2022.

The problem in Colorado has been bolstered by Polis' policies making it easier for migrants to get drivers' licenses, attend school and obtain taxpayer-funded resources.

'There are people behind this that are solely playing politics,' Jurinsky said following Polis' rebuttal on Thursday.

'That is so sad to me because they're real human beings just like the Romeros, suffering on the other side of those doors, living behind four deadbolt locks and a door brace and living in fear every day in these complexes,' she told Fox News.

But she said, 'It is very promising that across the board, people are really seeing what is happening.

'Video evidence is only undeniable for our governor in Colorado,' Jurinsky said.

'Everybody else across the country is seeing this for themselves.'