Colorado LGBT club shooter sentenced to 55 life sentences

A shooter who killed five people at a Colorado LGBT nightclub was sentenced to 55 life sentences after pleading guilty to hate crimes.

Anderson Lee Aldrich was already serving five life sentences for the 2022 Club Q massacre in Colorado Springs that also injured 22 people.

But a US district judge on Tuesday added 55 life sentences and another 190 years to that tariff after hearing how Aldrich specifically targeted members of the LGBT community with an arsenal of $9,000 (£7,000) amassed over two years.

Judge Charlotte Sweeney said: “You went to a safe place in this community and massacred people, but I hope what you learned today is that this community is much stronger than you,” noting that it was appropriate to condemn Aldrich during Pride Month.

“This community is stronger than your armor, stronger than your weapons, and it is certainly stronger than your hatred as well.”

In the United States, federal hate crime charges carry harsh penalties and those found guilty can face the death penalty, but prosecutors agreed to withdraw that issue in exchange for Aldrich's 74 guilty pleas.

The shooter entered Club Q on November 19, 2022, killing five people with an AR-15-style assault rifle.

Two club patrons eventually tackled the shooter to the ground, detaining him until police arrived.

Online rant before the massacre

In court filings, federal prosecutors said Aldrich vented online before committing the crime.

“The defendant used an online platform … to distribute a manifesto purportedly written by someone who committed a mass shooting earlier that year,” the documents state.

“This link reveals predominantly racist and anti-Semitic beliefs, but also the following statement: 'Transgender, however, is a mental illness and should be treated as such.'

A week before the shooting, Aldrich posted a photo depicting a rifle sight at a Pride parade with the comment “lol,” the document states.

“No tolerance for hate crimes”

Matt Kirsch, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, told reporters after the sentencing that Aldrich admitted what was behind the horrific acts.

“As part of today’s plea, the defendant admitted to committing acts of hatred against members of the LGBTQIA+ community,” Kirsch said.

“I want to make it clear that we have no tolerance for hate in this country, and we have no tolerance for hate crimes in Colorado,” he said.

“I hope that today's sentence will demonstrate to the victims and the many others affected by this horrific crime that we will not tolerate hate-fueled violence against anyone. »

Defense attorneys said Aldrich, 24, identifies as non-binary.
Federal prosecutors used gender-neutral terms in the filings, but state prosecutors reportedly said there was “no evidence” that the attacker had identified as non-binary before the horrific episode.

The Club Q shooting was the latest in a long series of attacks on LGBT venues in the United States, the deadliest of which claimed the lives of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.