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Shooter who killed 5 at a Colorado LGBTQ+ club set to plead guilty to federal hate crimes
https://apnews.com/article/colorado-springs-lgbtq-bar-shooting-028344ddb7666033311dc67a064fef9fShooter who killed 5 at a Colorado LGBTQ+ club set to plead guilty to federal hate crimes
BY COLLEEN SLEVIN
Updated 12:14 AM EDT, June 18, 2024
DENVER (AP) — Anderson Lee Aldrich, who killed five people and injured 19 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, is prepared to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges as well as gun charges Tuesday following new evidence of anti-gay slurs and weapons purchases before the mass shooting.
Aldrich, now 24, is already serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges last year. Aldrich also pleaded no contest to hate crimes in that case. Federal prosecutors have focused on proving that the attack at Club Q — a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people in the mostly conservative city — was premeditated and fueled by bias.
The sentencing agreement between the prosecution and defense would allow Aldrich to avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to 50 hate crime as well as gun charges, and instead get multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney, the first openly gay federal judge in Colorado, will decide whether to accept it.
Less than a month before the shooting, Aldrich coordinated a spam email campaign against a former work supervisor who is gay, according to recent court filings by prosecutors. They also accuse Aldrich of disseminating someone else’s manifesto, which included racist and antisemitic statements and falsely claimed being transgender is a mental illness.
[...]
BY COLLEEN SLEVIN
Updated 12:14 AM EDT, June 18, 2024
DENVER (AP) — Anderson Lee Aldrich, who killed five people and injured 19 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, is prepared to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges as well as gun charges Tuesday following new evidence of anti-gay slurs and weapons purchases before the mass shooting.
Aldrich, now 24, is already serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges last year. Aldrich also pleaded no contest to hate crimes in that case. Federal prosecutors have focused on proving that the attack at Club Q — a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people in the mostly conservative city — was premeditated and fueled by bias.
The sentencing agreement between the prosecution and defense would allow Aldrich to avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to 50 hate crime as well as gun charges, and instead get multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney, the first openly gay federal judge in Colorado, will decide whether to accept it.
Less than a month before the shooting, Aldrich coordinated a spam email campaign against a former work supervisor who is gay, according to recent court filings by prosecutors. They also accuse Aldrich of disseminating someone else’s manifesto, which included racist and antisemitic statements and falsely claimed being transgender is a mental illness.
[...]
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