AURORA, Colo. — Conservatives are seizing on a TikTok video that appears to satirize anti-migrant hysteria, suggesting it's more proof that a Venezuelan gang is terrorizing Aurora.
Despite obvious signs that the video is a spoof, it racked up 3 million views when posted by a right-wing X account, and the claim was repeated Tuesday by KOA talk radio host Mandy Connell.
The TikTok video, posted September 3, features a video of a truck stop and a man’s voice describing Venezuelan gang members shaking down truckers for $50 to park for the night.
“Eighteen Venezuelans got out of the SUV,” the man said, dryly.
The TikTok creator said he identified the men as Venezuelan gang members because they had the words “Venezuelan gang member” tattooed on their forearms.
As some TikTok users took the claim seriously, the creator replied in the comments that his post was a “cranium thickness test” and a “frontal lobe functionality test.”
When questioned by one such user why he didn’t call police, the creator replied, “couldn’t talk on the phone had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.”
The creator responded to a commenter asking how 18 people fit in an SUV writing, “so you don’t think 18 can fit in a SUV?? WELL THEY WERNT THAT BIG.”
The video gained traction among conservatives when it was posted Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, by a right-wing meme account called “I Meme Therefore I Am.” By Wednesday, it had 3 million views and 26,000 reposts.
Conservative Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinksy, the chief promoter of claims about a Venezuelan gang takeover in Aurora, replied on X, “I heard about this. Crazy!”
After former President Donald Trump used the Sept. 9 presidential debate to repeat claims that the city of Aurora had been taken over by a Venezuelan gang, city leaders and Aurora Police released a joint statement saying that the gang’s impact was isolated to a few properties.
Since first acknowledging the local presence of the gang, Tren de Aragua, in early August, Aurora Police say they have identified ten suspected TdA members and arrested nine of them.
Aurora Police said Wednesday that they have not received any reports of Venezuelan gang members threatening truckers. The TikTok creator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.