Denver Mayor Mike Johnston used an encryption app to discuss the city’s illegal migrant crisis with numerous staff members as President Donald Trump returned to the White House, a scheme that allowed them to avoid public oversight.
Johnston and 14 of his advisors, lawyers and appointees communicated through Signal, an end-t0-end encryption app that auto-deletes messages, according to CBS News Colorado. Exchanging messages in a group nicknamed “Strike Force,” Johnston and his cohort of employees discussed how to manage the influx of illegal migrants entering Denver, which strained city resources and escalated into a full-blown crisis during the Biden administration.
In a statement to the outlet confirming use of the encryption app, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office appeared to blame the Trump administration for the move.
“When President Trump took office in January, it was clear that there would be rapidly developing changes to the way the federal government interacts with cities that could have significant impacts on how Denver operates,” spokesperson Jordan Fuja said to CBS News Colorado. “The particular group was started in January for internal staff to easily keep track of and share information regarding federal actions that impact Denver under the new administration.”
Fuja said the Strike Force’s auto-deletion retained messages for four weeks between Jan. 15 to Jan. 24, and then the group disabled the deletion function entirely on Jan. 29.
Launched more than a decade ago, Signal serves as a messaging app that encrypts users’ communication. Texts and other messages automatically delete after a specified amount of time, erasing from memory in as quickly as 30 seconds to as long as several weeks.
Government employees using encrypted apps to communicate has become an increasing issue in the U.S.
Michigan lawmakers restricted the use of encrypted messaging apps on work-issued devices for state employees after Michigan State Police in 2021 used Signal on state-issued cellphones. Inappropriate use of encrypted apps have been highlighted in the past decade in numerous states, such as Maryland, Oregon, Missouri, Oklahoma and elsewhere, according to The Associated Press.
Denver was among several major sanctuary cities that experienced financial and logistical strain from the southern border crisis that began under the Biden administration. The city took in over 40,000 migrants in 2023, eventually leading to overcrowding as housing and other sheltering options began to grow scarce.
The crisis grew so overwhelming, Denver officials in February 2024 began kicking migrant families out of shelters. Altogether, Denver has spent tens of millions of dollars on housing, healthcare and other services for illegal migrants.
Amid growing concerns of crime in the Denver area orchestrated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan-based migrant gang, and the overall U.S.-Mexico border crisis, the city’s sanctuary laws became a focus of national attention. Johnston was one of four sanctuary city mayors called to testify before a congressional committee earlier in March to discuss Denver’s local laws prohibiting police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The shift to the encrypted messaging app came roughly one month after Johnston’s own information security chief instructed his office to refrain from using Signal, according to CBS News Colorado. Denver Chief Information Security Officer Merlin Namuth shared an email on Dec. 11, 2024, directing mayoral staff members, in bold font, to use encrypted messaging apps for “personal use only. Please avoid using these applications for city work.”
The move to Signal also came roughly three weeks after a records request filed by America First Legal, a conservative group founded by White House senior advisor Stephen Miller, asked Johnson’s office for communication and city records relating to immigration, according to CBS News Colorado. A spokesperson for America First Legal did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Elected to the mayor’s office in 2023, Johnston previously cited transparency as one of the five guiding values for his office. Johnston’s spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Colorado that the Strike Force Signal group is still in use.
Johnston’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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