"We want to talk to each other and have a conversation and come outside the silos," Fard, an activist and leader in Denver's Black communities, told Jurinsky. "There's probably some area where we can find common ground."
With a long history in Denver, Fard has a respected reputation within the historically Black Five Points neighborhood. At Brother Jeff's Cultural Center, a multi-use space at 2836 Welton Street, he's hosted guests like Pete Buttigieg during his presidential campaign and regularly holds free dinners and activities for local youth.
Fard advocated against the lack of community input used for the nearby RTD light rail and organized protests against police violence in Denver and Aurora, including after the death of Elijah McClain in 2019.
Jurinsky is often on the other end of the political spectrum. Known for public spats with a handful of local politicians and city officials, her public profile took off meteorically last year when she went on national TV to declare that gangs of violent Venezuelan migrants were taking over apartment buildings in Aurora and threatening residents. After more national appearances, Jurisnky was invited by President Donald Trump to speak at his Aurora campaign rally in October.
Even Fard thought Jursinsky "would be leaving Aurora, and you'd have a cabinet position," he told the councilwoman. "We're probably polar opposites," he added.
Jurinsky wore a black-and-white "Straight Outta Aurora" T-shirt to her interview with Fard, a reference to Straight Outta Compton, the 1988 album made by the group N.W.A. that notably features the song "Fuck Tha Police."
The interview stemmed from a Facebook post Jurinsky made in response to a gathering of hundreds of people, most of whom were Black, on April 27 around Aurora's Delmar Parkway near Peoria Street and East Sixth Avenue. Videos of the event referred to the gathering as a "car show," while others described it as a "birthday bash car show," and showed cars racing and doing donuts at Delmar Parkway.
Fard said during the interview that he didn't know why so many people came together for the event. Jurinsky, who leads the Aurora City Council Public Safety committee, called the gathering "an absolute mockery towards" the Aurora Police Department and "caused the shutdown of a major intersection" that "took a lot of police resources." She said one person was arrested, but the APD has not commented on the gathering.
Keep reading for more highlights from the interview.
Fard asked why Jurinsky called him out on social media for the April 27 gathering, noting that he was vacationing in Mexico when it happened. Jurinsky clarified that she expected him to be more accountable for Black youth in Aurora.
Fard shared a video of the April 27 gathering on Facebook with a caption reading "more from A town..." He said that he and Jurinsky talked on the phone and agreed to the interview on April 28, the same day Jurinsky called him out on Facebook.
"It felt like you were posting the videos to promote them. 'Just more from A-town' was the caption instead of condemning people," Jurinsky told Fard. "Somebody could have very easily gotten hurt...this is not a controlled environment. This is an unsafe environment that took all of our police resources."
Fard said during the interview that he didn't know why so many people came together for the event. Jurinsky, who leads the Aurora City Council Public Safety committee, called the gathering "an absolute mockery towards" the Aurora Police Department and "caused the shutdown of a major intersection" that "took a lot of police resources." She said one person was arrested, but the APD has not commented on the gathering.
Keep reading for more highlights from the interview.
Clearing the Air on Big Gatherings
Fard shared a video of the April 27 gathering on Facebook with a caption reading "more from A town..." He said that he and Jurinsky talked on the phone and agreed to the interview on April 28, the same day Jurinsky called him out on Facebook.
"It felt like you were posting the videos to promote them. 'Just more from A-town' was the caption instead of condemning people," Jurinsky told Fard. "Somebody could have very easily gotten hurt...this is not a controlled environment. This is an unsafe environment that took all of our police resources."
Fard responded by saying it was important to appreciate that "Black young people from many sections of our community who don't get along for some reason — on that day, they came together." Because of this, Fard wouldn't condemn the gathering but admitted the public behavior that day was dangerous.
"In Aurora and around this particular state, there are a lot of things that young people are doing that are reckless and dangerous," Fard said. "In terms of condemnation, I would never condemn young people. I would conversate with young people."
It wasn't the first large and unplanned gathering in Aurora that Jurinsky had criticized in recent months.
In July, Aurora dealt with a mass gathering of thousands of Venezuelans at the Havana Gardens shopping plaza near South Havana Street and East Mississippi Avenue in response to the presidential elections in their home country. Jurinsky said that the incident was never addressed to her satisfaction, and she "wasn't happy" about the April 27 gathering in Delmar Parkway, either.
Jurinsky contrasted the two incidents by describing the Venezuelan gathering as one mishandled by the police, instead of community leaders. Fard noted Jurinsky's rocky relations with past APD police chiefs, including Vanessa Wilson, whom she called "trash" on a radio show in 2022. However, Jurinsky praised current APD Chief Todd Chamberlain, saying that under his leadership, "morale is up," and "he's taking a different approach to a lot of things."
"In Aurora and around this particular state, there are a lot of things that young people are doing that are reckless and dangerous," Fard said. "In terms of condemnation, I would never condemn young people. I would conversate with young people."
It wasn't the first large and unplanned gathering in Aurora that Jurinsky had criticized in recent months.
In July, Aurora dealt with a mass gathering of thousands of Venezuelans at the Havana Gardens shopping plaza near South Havana Street and East Mississippi Avenue in response to the presidential elections in their home country. Jurinsky said that the incident was never addressed to her satisfaction, and she "wasn't happy" about the April 27 gathering in Delmar Parkway, either.
Jurinsky contrasted the two incidents by describing the Venezuelan gathering as one mishandled by the police, instead of community leaders. Fard noted Jurinsky's rocky relations with past APD police chiefs, including Vanessa Wilson, whom she called "trash" on a radio show in 2022. However, Jurinsky praised current APD Chief Todd Chamberlain, saying that under his leadership, "morale is up," and "he's taking a different approach to a lot of things."
Fard compared APD's response to the Delmar Parkway incident to previous large gatherings of Black residents, adding that he was surprised that APD didn't kill anyone.
"I'm surprised that the police did not do what it's traditionally done in taking that behavior as an excuse to end a life," Fard said. "I've been around a thousand years, and every time Black folks gather, there's always a large police presence that always impedes."
Jurinsky said she wasn't surprised that no one was killed by police during the event, but agreed that APD has improved at responding to large gatherings. Still, Fard wants APD to keep working on repairing its relationship with the Black community.
Jurinsky said she wasn't surprised that no one was killed by police during the event, but agreed that APD has improved at responding to large gatherings. Still, Fard wants APD to keep working on repairing its relationship with the Black community.
Jeff Fard often welcomes people with differing political agendas on his podcast Free Think Zone .
Bennito L. Kelty
Criticism of the Justice for Kilyn Lewis movement
Most of them were shot by APD officers, with the exception of McClain, who died from a lethal ketamine dosage administered by paramedics after being arrested by Aurora police. Fard said that tension still exists between Aurora's Black communities and APD because of these deaths, and that condemning young Black people for a non-violent gathering wouldn't help.
"You start to see this resistance and pushback on a system that over-polices them...with you being the head of the public safety committee, I'm sure you understand the sentiment," he explained to Jurinsky. "Condemnation really pushes people further away instead of pulling them in. You want to say, 'Okay, young people, what is this all about?' and also, 'What is my relationship to those young people who were there?'"
Jursinky conceded that resolving that tension "is going to take conversations like this," but believed Fard's response was a veiled condemnation. "Whether you say 'I condemn this behavior' or you say, 'This is boneheaded,' I think we're saying the exact same thing," she told him.
"Everyone would agree that in terms of safety that's not the best way to behave," Fard offered.
While on the topic, Jurinsky said what's not helping is the tactics of the Justice for Kilyn Lewis protesters, who have halted Aurora City Council meetings to demand the firing of the officer involved in Lewis' death. Their demonstrations irked Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman into yelling at them and moving parts of council meetings online or behind closed doors.
Lewis was fatally shot in May 2023 while APD SWAT was working with the Denver Police Department to serve him a warrant in connection with an attempted homicide. While officers closed in around him, Lewis reached for a phone in his back pocket, and an officer shot him thinking that he was reaching for a gun. An Arapahoe County grand jury determined in October that there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer.
For Jurinsky, "That should be the end of the road."
"The bottom line is we don't have anything we can do with this officer," she added. "What's not helpful is community activists coming to city council knowing that when we're sitting on the dais, we're just supposed to sit silently...this has just turned into a theater performance."
Some of the protesters "have ill intentions," the councilwoman claimed.
MiDian Shofner, a leader in the Justice of Kilyn Lewis movement, was in the audience and gave Westword her response after the show, saying that Jurinsky "really took this as an opportunity to demonize those that are asking for justice."
MiDian Shofner, a leader in the Justice of Kilyn Lewis movement, was in the audience and gave Westword her response after the show, saying that Jurinsky "really took this as an opportunity to demonize those that are asking for justice."
The Person to Beat
Fard told Jurinsky during the interview that she's "the person to beat" in Aurora's local elections this November, when two of the four at-large city council seats will be contested; Jurinsky and fellow conservative Amsalu Kassaw are running for re-election in their seats. Fard said that Jurinsky had built up a powerful and influential national profile by becoming the loudest voice claiming Aurora had a Venezuelan gang problem, although the city's mayor, law enforcement officials and other politicians have said the situation was largely overblown during the election.
"I believe you were one of the most powerful political figures in Colorado at the time," Fard told her. "I also said that you were the one to beat in November...based on who you are, you would be the person to be, and if you lost, it would be a huge upset."
"I am not leaving Aurora," Jurinsky said. "So I am the one to beat in Aurora."
"I believe you were one of the most powerful political figures in Colorado at the time," Fard told her. "I also said that you were the one to beat in November...based on who you are, you would be the person to be, and if you lost, it would be a huge upset."
"I am not leaving Aurora," Jurinsky said. "So I am the one to beat in Aurora."
Fard gave Jurinsky the last word on the podcast, and she used it to wish the worst to Robin Niceta, a disgraced social worker sentenced to four years in prison for using her position with Arapahoe County to falsely report Jurinsky for child abuse. The incident nearly led to Jurinsky losing custody of her child.
"Robin Niceta, if you get Brother Jeff's show in prison, I hope you are miserable for trying to take my child from me," she says. "And with that, I love Aurora and look forward to continuing to serve my great city in Aurora."
"Robin Niceta, if you get Brother Jeff's show in prison, I hope you are miserable for trying to take my child from me," she says. "And with that, I love Aurora and look forward to continuing to serve my great city in Aurora."
Shofner called Jurinsky's final comments "disgusting."
Shofner works with Fard to host events like a pro-Kamala Harris debate watch party. She says she trusts Fard's judgment to bring Jurinsky on, but she doesn't believe Jurinsky spoke honestly on the show.
"What's important is that we as a community don't take things that are said by people that are in leadership at face value. You have to make sure they're connected to the people they serve," Shofner said. "Knowing Brother Jeff, I know he has an entry point for everyone...but not everyone comes into this space to be honest."
