The 24-year-old shooter who killed five people and wounded 22 others at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub in 2022 pleaded guilty Tuesday to 74 federal hate crime and weapons charges and was sentenced to an additional 55 life sentences plus 190 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney accepted Anderson Lee Aldrich’s plea deal, which allowed the mass killer to avoid the death penalty in the Club Q attack, but made Aldrich admit the shooting was bias-motivated and targeted victims due to their sexual identity or gender identity.
“You went to this community’s safe place and mass-murdered people, but I hope what you learned today is this community is much stronger than you,” Sweeney said before sentencing Aldrich, noting that she felt it was appropriate to sentence Aldrich during Pride Month.
Aldrich is already serving five life sentences plus 2,208 years after pleading guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and related counts in state court last year.
During the hearing, Sweeney asked whether Aldrich wanted to speak, and Aldrich said not at this time. When the judge said it was now or never, Aldrich said they believed there would be an opportunity to speak again, whether in or out of court.
Aldrich killed Daniel Davis Aston, 28; Kelly Loving, 40; Ashley Paugh, 35; Derrick Rump, 38; and Raymond Green Vance, 22, walking into the club just before midnight on Nov 19, 2022, and opening fire as patrons screamed and ran for cover.
Club patron Thomas James, a member of the U.S. Navy, was the first to fight back, grabbing the rifle and wrestling Aldrich to the ground. James was shot in the chest during the struggle but kept fighting. He was eventually joined by another club patron, Richard Fierro, and together the pair disarmed and detained Aldrich until police arrived.
During the emotional sentencing hearing, survivors and their family members shared testimonies about the night of the attack and how their lives have been turned upside-down since. Survivors and loved ones of victims said the shooter tried to take out the queer community in Colorado Springs, but that queer resilience is strong and people will continue loving who they want joyfully.
Members of the audience wiped tears from their eyes as witnesses shared their pain. Some wore clothing with sentimental value, like concert merchandise purchased with one of the victims, or rainbow-colored clothing.
“I forgive you,” said Wyatt Kent, a drag queen who performed the night of the attack. “We, the queer community, are the resilient ones, and we continue to hold that beauty within each other. We continue to find joy in the trauma and pain and, unfortunately, those are things you will never experience for the rest of your life.”
Jeff Aston, father of victim Daniel Aston, spoke first. Aston noted that he had to endure a Father’s Day without his son’s usual card and present.
“He was a good son and a good person,” Aston said, his voice trembling. “He certainly didn’t deserve to go this way. We can say all the words we want to defend this person, but they did that horrible act to my son and all the other people, and I don’t believe they should be allowed to live.”
Estella Bell, the grandmother of 22-year-old victim Raymond Vance, said Aldrich chose to commit acts of violence because he didn’t want to be home anymore and that now he would likely be going to prison, which she referred to as “a resort.”
“What I think you should do because they won’t give you the death penalty is to eat rat poison and then go to hell,” Bell said.
Through tears, Ashtin Gamblin took to the lectern in court Tuesday with her husband by her side. Gamblin survived the Club Q attack because of Daniel Aston, she said.
“I’m alive today because of him,” Gamblin said. “I was laying on the floor of a bar while my husband was over 5,000 miles away serving his country, and he got a phone call that I was shot. That’s not how that job is supposed to work.”
Gamblin, who said she was an ally to the LGBTQ community, advocated for Aldrich to receive the death penalty. Gamblin’s mother, Cheryl Norton, took to the podium after her daughter.
“You have no right to speak,” Norton said, facing Aldrich. “You need to pay with your life. You have taken five souls away from these people, and it cannot be forgiven.”
Norton said she asked Daniel Aston to protect her daughter before they went out. Norton said Aston jumped in front of Gamblin to shield her from the bullets and that Gamblin lay in Aston’s blood to hide from the shooter.
Aston’s final words will forever haunt Norton, she said.
“He said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll keep her safe,’ ” Norton said. “And he did, your honor. He did just that.”
Federal prosecutors said in court filings that Aldrich expressed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric online before the mass shooting, sending a “barrage of emails containing anti-gay slurs and commentary” to a former supervisor, who was gay, after being fired about a month before the attack. Aldrich also shared a photo that depicts a rifle sight pointed at what appears to be a gay pride parade with the comment “lol” (meaning “laughing out loud”), prosecutors said.
Aldrich identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, defense attorneys have said. In state court, Aldrich told a judge they prefer to be referred to as “Mx. Aldrich.” The 24-year-old visited Club Q at least eight times before the mass shooting, apparently without incident.
State prosecutors expressed doubt about Aldrich’s gender and have said there is “zero evidence” Aldrich identified as nonbinary before the mass shooting. Federal prosecutors, on the other hand, referred to Aldrich with gender-neutral terms in court filings.
Aldrich has previously been prescribed medications used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression and mood disorders, prior court proceedings have shown.
In addition to the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, prosecutors said Aldrich amassed an arsenal in the two years before the attack, spending at least $9,000 on weapons-related purchases, which they said showed his careful planning.
Federal prosecutors noted that Aldrich visited Club Q about 90 minutes before the attack, and had a hand-drawn map of the club with entrances and exits marked, as well as a binder of training material entitled, “How to Handle an Active Shooter.”
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Updated 1 p.m. June 18, 2024: This story was updated to reflect additional life sentences issued in this case.
