‘Deepest malice of the human heart’: Here’s what the judge said as he sentenced the Club Q shooter on Monday

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — Before issuing multiple life sentences, the judge who oversaw the Club Q shooting case told the defendant on Monday that their actions from that November evening in 2022 “reflect the deepest malice of the human heart.”

On Nov. 19, 2022, Anderson Lee Aldrich entered the LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs and opened fire on staff and patrons. Five people died and dozens more were injured in the attack. Aldrich, who uses they/them pronouns, was tackled to the ground, where they were held until police arrived.

Club Q shooter pleads guilty, sentenced to 5 consecutive life sentences

The defendant pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and 46 counts of attempted first-degree murder on Monday.

READ MORE: All Club Q shooting coverage from Denver7

The prosecution and defense both asked for the judge to accept the plea deal of five life sentences in the Department of Corrections for the murders, plus 2,208 years for the 46 counts of attempted murder, which carry 48 years each, to run consecutively. The defendant also pleaded no contest to a class 5 felony bias-motivated crime and a class 1 misdemeanor bias-motivated crime.

Just before the formal sentencing, Fourth Judicial District Judge Michael McHenry addressed the defendant.

“Anderson Aldrich, when you commit a hate crime, you are targeting a group of people for their simple existence,” McHenry said. “Their skin color or sex or gender or sexual orientation is a mere product of chance — a byproduct of forces beyond one’s control, completely unrelated to one’s value and dignity as a human being. This country was found on the idea that all persons are created equal — the idea that God makes no mistakes. And our laws reflect this by making it clear that hate crimes are worse than other crimes.”

“You chose to find a power that day behind the trigger of a gun,” he continued. “Your actions reflect the deepest malice of the human heart and malice is almost always born of ignorance and fear. The power found behind the cross hairs of a rifle is ultimately impotent. True power is found in the legacy of those people who teach their children empathy. The people of the State of Colorado find their strength in protecting the powerless and celebrating our differences in love, not hate.”

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He said the sentence of the court is the judgment of the people of Colorado, and states that hate will not be tolerated and the LGBTQ+ community “is as much a member of humanity as you are.”

“We grieve this loss of life and we affirm the value of all members of our community. Justice demands no less,” McHenry said.

After his statements, McHenry sentenced the defendant to the five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the five murders, plus 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murder charges. He listed the five killed victims and the names of the dozens of people injured, which resulted in the attempted murder charges.