DENVER (AP) — The shooter Killed 5 people The suspect who wounded 19 people in an attack at a Colorado Springs nightclub pleaded guilty to 50 federal hate crime charges Tuesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, is already serving a life sentence. Plead guilty Federal prosecutors are seeking to overturn state charges in a 2022 shooting last year in which the attack at Club Q Sanctuary For LGBTQ+ people Conservative city — was premeditated and fueled by bigotry.
In a deal with prosecutors, Aldrich avoided the death penalty and instead pleaded guilty to multiple life sentences for hate crimes and a total of 190 years in prison for firearms and other charges.
The lawyers handling the state lawsuits said their clients Non-binary Aldrich, who uses “they/them” pronouns, claimed Aldrich was high on cocaine and drugs at the time. Speaking to The Associated Press by phone from jail last year, Aldrich did not directly answer questions about whether the attack was motivated by hatred, saying only that “it’s completely irrelevant,” and did not reveal a motive to AP or in state court.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney, Colorado’s first openly gay federal judge, said she would hear the victim’s testimony before deciding whether to accept the sentencing agreement.
Less than a month before the shooting, Aldrich orchestrated a spam email campaign against his former boss, who is gay, according to prosecutors’ recent court filings. Prosecutors also accuse Aldrich of spreading someone else’s manifesto, which contained racist and anti-Semitic slurs and falsely claimed transgender people have mental illnesses.
New evidence cited by prosecutors alleges Aldrich spent more than $9,000 on weapons-related purchases from at least 56 vendors between September 2020 and the Nov. 19, 2022, attack.
In Aldrich’s apartment, investigators found a hand-drawn map of Club Q’s entrances and exits, which was entered into evidence in state court, as well as a black binder of training materials titled “How to Deal with an Active Activist.”
The lawyers handling the state lawsuits said their clients Non-binary Using the pronouns “they/them,” he claimed Aldrich was high on cocaine and drugs at the time.
In multiple calls from prison to The Associated Press last year, Aldrich did not directly answer questions about whether the attack was motivated by hatred, saying only that it was “completely beside the point.” Aldrich did not reveal his motive to AP or in state court and declined to comment during his sentence.
Aldrich’s assertion that he is non-binary has been denied by some of his victims and by the district attorney who prosecuted him in state court, who said it was an attempt to avoid hate crime charges.
That includes Ashtyn Gamblin, who worked at the front door that night and was shot nine times and is still undergoing physical therapy. She said anyone who is a true member of the LGBTQ+ community would know about the discrimination and mental health issues they face and would never attack its members in such a sacred space.
“Coming to the only safe place means you’re not part of the community, you’re just hoping the community goes away,” said Gamblin, one of several survivors who will speak at the hearing about how the attack still affects their lives.
According to prosecutors, Aldrich had visited the club at least eight times prior to the attack, including an hour and a half before the shooting. Just before midnight, Aldrich returned wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying an AR-15-style rifle and immediately began firing. He shot and killed the first person at the entrance and then opened fire on the bartender and a customer before moving onto the dance floor and stopping to reload his rifle.
Authorities said the shooting was thwarted when a Navy officer grabbed the barrel of the suspect’s rifle, causing burns to his hand, and an Army veteran helped subdue Aldrich until police arrived.
There was a chance to prevent this violence. Aldrich was arrested in June 2021 for threatening his grandparents. Vows to be ‘the next mass murderer’ While stockpiling weapons, bulletproof vests, and bomb-making materials, Aldrich’s mother and grandparents Refusal to cooperatethe prosecution did not serve summonses on the family members, which could have allowed the case to continue. The charges were ultimately dismissed..
A felony conviction in that case would have prevented Aldrich from legally purchasing firearms. But District Attorney Michael Allen noted that most of the firearm parts used in the shooting were untraceable ghost gun parts, which did not require a background check to obtain. Two of the firearms seized from Aldrich in the 2021 incident were still in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office at the time of the Club Q shooting, District Attorney Allen said.
Justifying the proposed sentence, prosecutors wrote: “It is impossible to overstate the horror the victims and survivors experienced at the hands of the defendant. They were celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance when they were attacked when they least expected it, by someone who had been standing right in front of them only hours earlier.”
Aldrich, who will be returned to state prison after the hearing, will serve his federal sentence under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a 2009 law that expanded federal law to include crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Gamblin wanted the death penalty as a recognition of how many lives had been damaged. She said some of her friends no longer want to go to events and others have trouble keeping jobs that involve working with the public.
“We just want things to go back to normal, but we know that’s not going to happen,” she said.
