Anderson Lee Aldrich, the Colorado Springs mass shooter, pleaded guilty to over 50 federal hate crimes on Tuesday and was sentenced to 55 life sentences in prison for attacking an LGBTQ+ club.
Aldrich, already serving life sentences after pleading guilty to state charges, killed five people and injured 19 others at Club Q in November 2022. Although Aldrich identifies as nonbinary, the attack specifically targeted LGBTQ+ attendees, a claim that prosecutors have disputed.
Aldrich did not address the survivors after signing the plea agreement, which repeatedly cites evidence of hate in the crimes.
“The admission that these were hate crimes is important to the government, and it’s important to the community of Club Q,” prosecutor Alison Connaughty stated, according to the Associated Press. She emphasized that the sentence “sends a message that acts of hate will be met with severe consequences.”
Authorities reported that Aldrich entered Club Q and fired shots for several minutes before two patrons confronted and subdued him until law enforcement arrived.
Aldrich’s defence attorneys argued that the crimes were not motivated by hate, attributing Aldrich’s actions to drug addiction, childhood trauma, an abusive mother, online extremism, and access to guns. However, prosecutors presented evidence that Aldrich posted hate-related content on two websites, fired at a rainbow target, and publicly shared 911 calls from the 2016 mass shooting at a club in Orlando known as a haven for the LGBTQ+ community.
Additionally, Aldrich shared a manifesto from another mass shooter who described being transgender as a “disease.”
Many victims and survivors of the shooting addressed Aldrich during the sentencing hearing. One person, despite losing a partner in the shooting, expressed forgiveness.
“I’ve had to look at my partner in a casket, attend funerals of my friends, and deal with unspeakable trauma,” said Wyatt Kent, whose partner was killed while working behind the bar. “I see this person as a hurt individual, created by failures of systems around them designed to help. I forgive you. We, the queer community, we are the resilient ones.”