Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday as he continued to push false claims that the city has been overrun by Venezuelan gang members.

“Colorado is going to vote for me because I am going to make Colorado safe again!” Trump told a crowd of thousands gathered at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, which sits on the edge of Aurora.

Trump has called the city a “war zone” as it adjusts to having more than 40,000 migrants come to the region since 2022, many of them bused in by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Local police have identified at least 10 men believed to be part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). 

At his rally, Trump announced that, if elected, he would launch a federal program called “Operation Aurora” to deport the gang members. But local officials in Aurora say Trump’s claims are either false or wildly exaggerated.

“We have to live with these animals, but we’re not going to live with them for long. You watch,” Trump said, while telling his supporters that their community was being “invaded,” “infested,” and “conquered” by migrants.

Aurora’s Republican mayor, Mike Coffman, did not attend Friday’s rally. He said in a statement, “The reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity have been grossly exaggerated.” Coffman offered to brief Trump privately alongside the police chief, but it does not appear the former president accepted.

Coffman issued a statement after the rally stressing, "The city and state have not been ‘taken over’ or ‘invaded’ or ‘occupied’ by migrant gangs.”

At Trump’s rally, some of his supporters whom Spectrum News spoke with said they appreciated his visit and were upset the mayor didn’t show.

“He said he’s not going to be on the stage with Trump," said Leon Scott. "That’s fine, but that tells us where you stand."

Julie Stubbs, who has lived in the Denver region for 25 years, said: “Aurora is absolutely horrible. It’s actually a lot worse than what they’re saying on TV.”

Asked if Trump’s visit would help or hurt the situation, Robin Parker, who sported a 2020 Trump hat, said, “Eh, I think it could go either way, but I’m really glad he came.”

Before Trump arrived Friday, Colorado Democrats held a news conference to call him out for holding his rally at a resort on the edge of the city and for doubling down on the false and exaggerated claims.

“What Donald Trump is doing is victimizing some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” said U.S. Rep. Jason Crow.

Colorado is a blue-leaning state that Trump lost by nearly 14 points in 2020. Voters here last supported a Republican for president in 2004.

On Thursday, Spectrum News went to the now-closed apartment building that was the site of a shooting in July that led to the arrest of four men Aurora Police say have ties to the TdA gang. 

Neighbors said, off-camera, that things have improved since the city shut the building down.

Spectrum News also went to the apartment building where a viral video of men with guns took place in August. As of Oct. 2, police said, “At this time, none of the six suspects have been connected to any criminal organization.”

The area was quiet, and some police were parked nearby.

Up the road, Denise Taylor was sitting on her front porch, where she has lived for 13 years.

Asked if there had been issues, she said yes.

“It was a problem, but the policemen and the governor, they straightened it out,” Taylor told Spectrum News.

She said she felt Trump came to Aurora strictly for political purposes. 

“I would just tell Trump that, you know what, you really need to be ashamed of yourself,” said Taylor, who is planning to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

To add to the confusion, Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, a Republican, spoke at Friday’s rally, recounting how police had told her Venezuelan gang members were taking over apartments in the city.

“I decided I had to go in myself and start moving people out. I witnessed it with my own two eyes,” she said to thunderous applause.

But last month, Jurinsky released a joint statement with Coffman, the city manager and the Aurora Police Department that said, in part, “TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true.”

She did not mention the statement during the rally.

Trump has also promised to visit Springfield, Ohio, a community that has dealt with dozens of bomb threats after Trump amplified what local and state officials say are false claims that Haitian migrants there were eating people’s pets.

In the final weeks of this presidential campaign, immigration remains one of Trump’s top talking points.