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How the False Story of a Gang ‘Takeover’ in Colorado Reached Trump
“… Mike Coffman, the conservative Republican mayor of Aurora, Colo., said he was at home on Tuesday night watching the presidential debate and bracing for the worst.
And then there it was again, before tens of millions of viewers: former President Donald J. Trump, describing Mr. Coffman’s Aurora, a sprawling suburb just east of Denver, as a city under siege, terrorized by migrants.
“They’re taking over buildings,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re going in violently.”
Mr. Coffman was contrite on Thursday as he told that story. After all, he had helped create the tall tale now sullying his city’s reputation.
… Caught in the middle are a number of migrants, living in dilapidated apartments that Aurora officials now call squalor, amid “criminal elements,” not widespread gang activity, and unable to find or afford better. The buildings are nonetheless at the center of a national firestorm.
… Meantime, the mayor has started a crusade to try to undo the damage Mr. Trump is inflicting.
“I mean, I agree with him on a lot of policies as it pertains to immigration,” Mr. Coffman said in City Hall on Thursday. “But I’m also the mayor of the City of Aurora, and my job is not only to make sure that the city is safe, but also to protect the image of the city. This narrative out there is exaggerated, and it’s our responsibility to correct it.” …”