Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, who shot and killed five people and injured over 40 more at the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs in 2022, has been charged with 50 federal hate crimes and 24 firearm violations. https://twitter.com/AP/status/1747372377925628240 From the Associated Press:
The charges, which include multiple federal firearm violations, come after Aldrich pleaded guilty last June in state court to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder — one for each person at Club Q during the attack on Nov. 19, 2022.
Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, also pleaded no contest to state charges for hate crimes charges under a plea agreement.
The plea was an acknowledgment there was a good chance Aldrich would be convicted of those crimes without admitting guilt. The pleas carried the same weight as a conviction.
Aldrich pleaded not guilty to the federal hate crime charges Tuesday. Aldrich is currently serving five life sentences and an additional 2,208 years in prison after pleading guilty to state charges last year including five first-degree murder charges and 46 charges of attempted first-degree murder. Aldrich had visited the club at least 6 times before the night of the deadly attack, according to prosecutors. Aldrich told The Associated Press from jail they were on a “very large plethora of drugs” and abusing steroids at the time of the attack. https://twitter.com/CivilRights/status/1747391643714543966 More from NBC Out:
During hearings in the state case in February, prosecutors said Aldrich administered a website that posted a “neo-Nazi white supremacist” shooting training video.
A police detective also testified that online gaming friends said Aldrich expressed hatred for the police, LBGTQ people and minorities, and used racist and homophobic slurs.
One said that Aldrich sent an online message with a photo of a rifle trained on a gay pride parade.
The shooter who killed five people and endangered the lives of over 40 others at a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in Nov. 2022 appeared in federal court to face federal hate crimes. https://t.co/Kg78KzBHGz
— NBC Out (@NBCOUT) January 16, 2024
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