Denver, Colo. — Anderson Aldrich, 23, the individual accused of killing five people and injuring over 40 at a LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, faced federal hate crime charges in a federal court appearance on Tuesday.
Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, entered a not guilty plea to the federal charges. Previously, Aldrich was transferred to Wyoming State Penitentiary due to safety concerns related to the high-profile nature of the case, as stated by Alondra Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Corrections.
The federal charges, including multiple firearm violations, follow Aldrich’s guilty plea in state court last June to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder, each count representing an individual present at Club Q during the Nov. 19, 2022, attack. Additionally, Aldrich entered a no contest plea to state hate crime charges under a plea agreement, acknowledging the likelihood of conviction without admitting guilt. These pleas are equivalent to a conviction.
The federal charges stem from an FBI investigation initiated after Aldrich’s state court sentencing. District Attorney Michael Allen indicated that the potential for a federal death penalty significantly influenced Aldrich’s guilty plea in state court.
Aldrich, who declined to speak during the state court sentencing, has not disclosed their reasons for frequenting Club Q, leaving, and then returning in body armor to open fire with an AR-15-style rifle.
Prosecutors noted that Aldrich had visited the club multiple times before the attack and claimed Aldrich’s mother compelled them to attend. In jailhouse phone calls to The Associated Press, Aldrich admitted to being under the influence of drugs and steroids during the attack and denied that the attack was motivated by hate.
However, the district attorney dismissed these claims as self-serving, expressing skepticism about Aldrich’s nonbinary identity, which he suggested was a tactic to evade hate crime charges. There was no evidence of Aldrich identifying as nonbinary before the shooting, according to the district attorney.
In state case hearings in February, prosecutors presented evidence of Aldrich running a website with a “neo-Nazi white supremacist” shooting training video. A police detective testified that Aldrich’s online gaming friends reported Aldrich’s expressed hatred towards police, LGBTQ+ individuals, and minorities, and use of racist and homophobic slurs. One friend mentioned receiving a message from Aldrich with a photo of a rifle aimed at a gay pride parade.
The Club Q attack, which was halted by a Navy officer and an Army veteran who subdued Aldrich, deeply impacted the city’s LGBTQ+ community, which had considered the club a safe haven.
This incident occurred over a year after Aldrich was arrested for threatening their grandparents and expressing a desire to become “the next mass killer,” while accumulating weapons, body armor, and bomb-making materials. Those charges were later dismissed when Aldrich’s mother and grandparents did not cooperate with prosecutors.
