DENVER — A Colorado resident was charged today by an information with hate crimes and firearms charges related to the mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQI+ establishment in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Nov. 19, 2022.
The information charges that Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, formerly of Colorado Springs, murdered 5 people, injured 19 and attempted to murder 28 more in a willful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated attack at Club Q. According to the information, Aldrich entered Club Q armed with a loaded assault weapon and began firing. Aldrich continued firing until Aldrich was subdued by patrons of the club. The information also alleges that Aldrich committed this attack because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity of any person.
Aldrich filed a notice of disposition and requested that the court schedule a change of plea hearing. In consultation with the victims of this incident, the parties jointly filed a motion requesting that the court schedule the change of plea and sentencing hearings on the same date. The parties further informed the court that there is a plea agreement in this matter, and it is anticipated that the defendant has agreed to plead guilty to all charges in the information. The time for the entry of the guilty plea has not yet been set.
U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan for the District of Colorado, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Special Agent in Charge Mark D. Michalek of the FBI Denver Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Denver Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison Connaughty and Bryan Fields for the District of Colorado and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An information is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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