The gunman who killed five people at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs is expected to plead guilty to new federal charges of hate crimes and firearms violations.
Anderson Aldrich, 23, has struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate crime charges and 24 firearms violations to avoid the death penalty, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
Under the proposed agreement, Aldrich will receive multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence, which still requires a judge’s approval.
The settlement was unsealed after AldrichWho is non-binary and uses they/their pronouns, had pleaded not guilty during a first appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon.
Aldrich is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty last June to murder charges and 46 counts of attempted murder — one for each person at Club Q during the Nov. 19, 2022, attack.
Aldrich struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate crime charges and 24 firearms violations to avoid the death penalty, according to court documents made public Tuesday
Aldrich is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty last June to charges of murder and 46 attempted murders – one for each person at Club Q (pictured) during the attack on November 19, 2022
Those killed in the shooting were identified as Kelly Loving, 40; Daniel Aston, 28; Derrick Rump, 38; Ashley Paugh, 34; and Raymond Green Vance, 22
On November 19, 2022, Aldrich, wearing body armor, opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub. In addition to those killed, nearly two dozen others were injured by gunfire or wounded before being stopped by “heroic” patrons.
Those killed in the shooting were identified as Kelly Loving, 40; Daniel Aston, 28; Derrick Rump, 38; Ashley Paugh, 34; and Raymond Green Vance, 22.
Ashtin Gamblin, who was shot nine times and seriously injured at Club Q, called the shooting a hate crime during Tuesday’s hearing and said Aldrich should be labeled as having committed one.
Gamblin also said she told federal prosecutors that Aldrich should receive the death penalty for what they did, even if the sentence is never carried out.
She said she wanted Aldrich to be “left with the thought that they wouldn’t know when” they would die, or that they could die “on any day or at any time.”
Aldrich also pleaded no contest to hate crime charges under a plea agreement. The plea was an acknowledgment that there was a good chance that Aldrich would be convicted of these crimes without pleading guilty.
For Tuesday’s hearing, Aldrich appeared by video from an unknown location and was represented by David Kraut at the federal public defender’s office.
Jeff Aston, whose son Aston was shot dead in the attack and listened to the hearing remotely.
“This was a hateful, stupid, heinous and cowardly act,” Aston said, adding that he would like to see Aldrich suffer as much as the victims and their family members.
After the shooting, Aston’s parents said they found Club Q a safe place to be a trans man and drag queen.
Trans woman Kelly Loving, 40, was one of five people killed in the shooting
Derrick Rump, 38, was “active in the local LGBTQ community” and loved by friends and family
Raymond Green Vance, 22, was tragically killed during the club massacre
Daniel Aston, 28, was among the innocent victims killed by the lone gunman
Ashley Paugh, 35, a married mother, was one of the five victims
Michael Anderson, who was a bartender at Club Q when the shooting broke out, said the federal indictment would serve as a deterrent by “sending a message to people who want to commit acts of violence against this community, and letting them know that this is not something that gets swept away or overlooked.”
“No matter how much justice is served state-wide or federally, it cannot undo the bullets fired,” he said.
At the time of Aldrich’s sentencing in state court, District Attorney Michael Allen said the possibility of facing the death penalty in the federal system was a “large part of what motivated the defendant” to plead guilty to the state charges.
Aldrich declined to speak during the sentencing hearing in state court and did not say why they hung out in the club before going outside and returning dressed in bulletproof vests. Aldrich began firing an AR-15 style rifle as soon as they reentered.
Prosecutors say Aldrich had visited the club at least six times before that night and that Aldrich’s mother forced them to go.
Candles, flowers and cards stand outside Club Q in memory of the five victims who died
On November 19, 2022, Aldrich, wearing body armor, opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub. In addition to the dead, nearly two dozen others were wounded by gunfire or otherwise injured before being stopped by ‘heroic’ patrons
In a series of phone calls from prison, Aldrich told The Associated Press that they were using a “very large abundance of drugs” and steroids at the time of the attack.
When asked if the attack was motivated by hate, Aldrich said it was “completely off-base.”
The prosecutor called these statements self-serving and characterized the claim as hollow. He said Aldrich’s claim that he is non-binary is part of an effort to avoid hate crime charges, and said there was no evidence that Aldrich identified as non-binary before the shooting.
During hearings in the state’s case in February, prosecutors said Aldrich operated a website that posted a target practice training video for “neo-Nazi white supremacists.”
A police detective also testified that online gaming friends said Aldrich expressed hatred toward police, LBGTQ+ people and minorities, and made racist and homophobic comments.
One of them said Aldrich sent an online message with a photo of a gun pointed at a gay pride parade.
Aldrich declined to speak during the sentencing hearing in state court and did not say why they hung out in the club before going outside and returning dressed in bulletproof vests. Aldrich began firing an AR-15 style rifle as soon as they reentered
Aldrich, then 22, sat upright in a chair during the hearing and appeared alert as he was read out about the Colorado shootings, which included murder and hate crimes
Pictured in 2022, Aldrich appears in the house where their mother rented a room after threatening to blow up their grandparents’ basement
The attack shattered the sense of security at Club Q, which served as a refuge for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
The shooting was stopped by a Navy officer who grabbed the barrel of the suspect’s gun and burned his hand, and helped an Army veteran subdue and beat Aldrich until police arrived, authorities said.
The 2022 attack came more than a year after Aldrich was arrested for threatening his grandparents and promising to become “the next mass murderer” while stockpiling weapons, body armor and bomb-making materials.
Those charges were ultimately dismissed after Aldrich’s mother and grandparents refused to cooperate with prosecutors.
Last year, Aldrich was transferred to the Wyoming State Prison due to security concerns in the high-profile case, said Alondra Gonzalez, spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Corrections.