On February 22, 2023, Anderson Lee Aldrich appeared in El Paso County court for a preliminary hearing, which was packed with survivors of the shooting and the victims’ family members (per The New York Times). Among the several hundred crimes prosecutors have charged Aldrich with are a number of hate crimes. To back the allegations that Aldrich allegedly acted out of bias, prosecutors presented evidence that included police testimony. In court, Det. Rebecca Joines alleged none of the people she interviewed who knew Aldrich were aware Aldrich was non-binary, and the interviewees said that Aldrich often used homophobic slurs and expressed anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. Per LGBTQ Nation, Aldrich’s lawyer at one point also referred to them using he/him pronouns in court documents. The suspect also posted a neo-Nazi video to a website, police said.
Aldrich’s defense attorneys countered that bias didn’t motivate their client, as evinced by their remorse after the shooting. “Aldrich’s behavior after this incident says they’re sorry, upset, and emotional about what they did,” defense attorney Joseph Archambault said in court on February 23, during the second day of the hearing, per Colorado Public Radio. “It’s categorically different than someone who targets a group, and that’s not what Aldrich did. … We have someone who was on a lot of drugs and had mental health issues.”
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If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
