Activists say a racist, homophobic, antisemitic rant at an Aurora City Council meeting highlights a divide that has grown amid national attention on reported Venezuelan gang activity in the city .
During Monday’s meeting, a person who called into the meeting repeatedly used hateful language when describing immigrants in the city.
“It’s brutal to sit here and listen to, like, this Marxist communist after another,” said the person.
The person insulted people with brown skin and used antisemitic and homophobic slurs when referencing Gov. Jared Polis.
“People like me are getting pissed off, the people who they keep calling white supremacists,” the person said. “That’s right, that’s exactly what I am.”
Demonstrators gathered Wednesday in Denver’s City Park to demand that the Aurora City Council cut off hateful commentary during meetings and put other safeguards in place.
“It scared me,” said Ana Sosa, who attended the meeting. “I was fearful. I was angry, and I just, I couldn’t believe it.”