A 23-year-old individual, Anderson Lee Aldrich, responsible for a 2022 shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado, now faces additional federal hate crime charges, as announced by authorities on Tuesday.
Aldrich is currently serving five life sentences for the attack at Club Q in Colorado Springs, which resulted in the death of five individuals and left 19 others injured.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado has filed several new federal charges against Aldrich.
“The information also alleges that Aldrich committed this attack because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity of any person,” stated a release.
Federal hate crime charges typically entail more severe penalties, including the possibility of the death penalty for those convicted.
Officials announced that Aldrich, currently serving a sentence for state crimes in Wyoming, would appear in court on a date yet to be determined.
“It is anticipated that the defendant has agreed to plead guilty to all charges,” stated the release.
According to local media, the plea deal is expected to include an agreement for prosecutors not to seek the death penalty.
Aldrich, who identifies as non-binary, was subdued by Club Q patrons in Colorado Springs after initiating the attack with an AR-15-style assault rifle.
The incident added to a series of historical assaults on LGBTQ establishments in the United States, with the deadliest occurring in 2016 when 49 lives were lost in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
As a country with more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths among developed nations.
