More life sentences for shooter in fatal LGBTQ+ nightclub attack

The shooter who killed five people and injured more than a dozen others in 2022 at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado pleaded guilty to a litany of federal charges Tuesday, resulting in another round of life sentences for the attack.

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, pleaded guilty to 74 charges in U.S. District Court, including federal hate crime and gun charges. Aldrich was sentenced later Tuesday to multiple life sentences without possibility of parole for the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.

Aldrich opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at the nightclub before bar patrons stepped in to stop the rampage.

Aldrich is already serving life sentences without parole for state murder charges. The deal was reached to spare survivors' and victims' families from a potentially painful trial. “I intentionally and after deliberation caused the death of each victim,” Aldrich told the state judge at the time.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney told Aldrich the "community is much stronger than you," at sentencing.

"This community is stronger than your armor, stronger than your weapons, and it’s sure as heck stronger than your hatred,” she told Aldrich.

Aldrich declined to make a statement at his federal hearing Tuesday.

Aldrich murdered Ashley Paugh, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Raymond Green Vance and Kelly Loving.

Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights at the Justice Department, said during a news conference after Aldrich's sentencing that Aldrich knew the layout of the venue because of prior visits and had stockpiled more than $9,000 in weapons from 56 different vendors.

"Prior to committing this heinous crime, the defendant created a website to post videos espousing racist ideology, and discussing racially motivated mass shootings," Clarke said. "The defendant used online platforms to spew anti-gay and anti-transgender views."

Club Q has been closed since the shooting and owners said in an October 2023 letter it will not reopen in the same spot.

Survivors, victims say Colorado Springs' queer community is resilient

Survivors and victims of the Club Q mass shooting called the nightclub a haven for many in Colorado Springs. Wyatt Kent, a drag queen, previously told USA TODAY he was there for his birthday. He told the court Tuesday his partner, Aston, was killed in the shooting.

“All of my 22 years before that night can never be restored, but in that, I forgive you,” Kent said in court, addressing Aldrich. “We, as a queer community, we are the resilient ones, and we continue to hold that beauty within each other. We continue to find joy in trauma and in pain and unfortunately, those are things that you will never experience for the rest of your life.”

Estella Bell, Vance's grandmother, was frustrated with prosecutors not seeking the death penalty and wished for Aldrich to "eat rat poison." Vance was at Club Q with his girlfriend the night he was killed, celebrating a birthday.

The Club Q mass shooting brought on reminders from those who survived or lost loved ones in the 2016 Pulse Nightclub mass shooting.

Mass killing database: Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006

Shooting haunted Pulse nightclub survivors

Many were afraid and grief-stricken after the shooting. It carried echoes of the 2016 shooting at the Pulse LBGTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where 49 were gunned down.

In the wake of the Club Q rampage, Pulse survivor Chris Hansen said he was devastated but urged the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado to stay strong.

"Don't give up and don't stay in the dark," he said at the time. "They have to remember that as long as they're alive, there's still hope. And as long as you're still living, there's still love, and love wins and you can't allow this 22-year-old (to) take away your happiness, your brightness, your love, your community, your strength."

More: State Department issues 'worldwide caution' for travelers, warns of anti-LGBTQ+ violence

Aldrich kills 5 at Club Q in 'malicious' attack

Aldrich entered Club Q on Nov. 19, 2022, with an AR-style rifle and opened fire into the packed nightclub. Prosecutors said that in addition to killing five people, Aldrich injured 19 and attempted to murder 26 more in the "deliberate, malicious and premeditated" attack.

"Aldrich committed this attack because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity" of patrons, DOJ said in a release.

Prosecutors noted in court documents that Club Q was honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance and was a prominent LGBTQ+ nightclub in the city.

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, Josh Meyer, Cady Stanton, Terry Collins, USA TODAY; Reuters.

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Club Q shooter pleads guilty in 2022 mass shooting