(Denver) Anderson Lee Aldrich, who killed five people and injured 19 others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in 2022, will plead guilty to federal hate crime charges as well as gun-related charges on Tuesday , following the filing of new evidence of anti-gay slurs and weapons purchases before the killings.
Aldrich, now 24, is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to state charges last year. He also pleaded no contest to hate crimes in the case.
Federal prosecutors have been working to prove that the attack at Club Q — a sanctuary for LGBTQ people in the predominantly conservative city — was premeditated and fueled by bias.
The sentencing agreement between the prosecution and defense would allow Aldrich to avoid the death penalty if he decides to plead guilty to 50 hate crimes as well as gun charges, and ‘get multiple life sentences on top of a 190-year sentence instead. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney, Colorado’s first openly gay federal judge, will decide whether to accept it.
Less than a month before the shooting, Aldrich coordinated a spam email campaign against a former gay work supervisor, according to recent documents filed by prosecutors. They also accuse Aldrich of releasing someone else’s manifesto, which contained racist and anti-Semitic statements and falsely claimed that being transgender was a mental illness.
Aldrich spent more than US$9,000 on gun purchases from at least 56 sellers between September 2020 and the attack on November 19, 2022, according to new evidence cited by prosecutors.
Investigators discovered that a hand-drawn map of Club Q with an entry and exit point was found inside Aldrich’s apartment, evidence that was also presented in state court . There was also a black binder containing training materials titled “How to Deal with an Active Shooter.”
Defense attorneys in the state’s case, who said their client was nonbinary, argued that Aldrich was high on cocaine and drugs at the time.
In a series of phone calls from prison with The Associated Press last year, Aldrich did not answer directly when asked whether the attack was motivated by hate, saying only that it was ” completely irrelevant.” Aldrich revealed no motivation to the AP or state court and declined to speak at this sentencing.
The idea that Aldrich is non-binary is a claim rejected by some of the victims as well as the prosecutor who prosecuted Aldrich in state court, who called it an effort to avoid hate crime charges.
Among them is Ashtin Gamblin, who was working the front door that night and continues to receive physical therapy after being shot nine times. A true member of the LGBTQ community would be aware of the discrimination and mental health issues they face and would not attack its members in such a sanctuary, she said.
She is among the survivors expected to speak at the hearing about how the attack still affects their lives.
Aldrich visited the nightclub at least eight times before the attack, including an hour and a half before the shooting, according to prosecutors. Just before midnight, Aldrich returned wearing a tactical vest with ballistic plates and armed with an AR-15-style rifle and immediately began shooting. Aldrich killed the first person in the lobby, shot the bartenders and patrons of the bar, then headed toward the dance floor, stopping to reload the rifle’s magazine.
The shooting was stopped by a Navy officer who grabbed the barrel of the suspect’s rifle, burning his hand, and an Army veteran who helped restrain Aldrich until police arrived. authorities said.
Aldrich was previously arrested in June 2021 and accused of threatening his grandparents and vowing to become “the next mass killer” while stockpiling weapons, body armor and bomb-making materials. But Aldrich’s mother and grandparents refused to cooperate and prosecutors did not subpoena family members, which could have kept the case alive, so the charges were ultimately dropped. rejected.