Colorado Springs, Colorado – A mass shooter who carried out a deadly attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs has pleaded guilty to 74 federal charges, including 50 hate crime charges. The shooter, identified as 24-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, had initially pleaded not guilty in the Club Q shooting but reversed course in a plea deal that resulted in 55 life sentences plus 190 years in prison.
The U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney condemned Aldrich, stating that the attack on the LGBTQIA+ community was a premeditated act of hatred. The shooting on November 19, 2022, claimed the lives of five individuals, leaving 17 others injured in its wake.
During the sentencing, survivors and family members of the victims expressed their desire for the death penalty. However, the judge explained that this punishment was not sought in the case. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke emphasized the severity of the attack, calling it one of the most violent hate-fueled mass shootings against the LGBTQIA+ community in the nation’s history.
Aldrich disclosed to the court that they are under psychiatric care, taking several medications for mental disorders. Defense attorneys portrayed Aldrich as a product of a turbulent upbringing, influenced by online radicalization and substance abuse. The Justice Department revealed that Aldrich harbored anti-gay and anti-transgender sentiments and strategically planned the attack to coincide with the club’s observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Despite enduring a tragic loss during the shooting, survivor Wyatt Kent extended forgiveness towards Aldrich, hoping that they find clarity and peace behind bars. Judge Sweeney recommended that Aldrich serve their sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole, closing a chapter in the federal investigation into the devastating attack.