Aldrich’s state attorneys have indicated in court documents that they are non-binary and use the pronouns they/them.
The shooter appeared in court Tuesday via web stream wearing an orange jumpsuit with their attorney, David Kraut. They pleaded not guilty Tuesday, although documents show there was a conditional agreement in the case not to face a federal trial.
“It’s infuriating and upsetting,” said Ashtyn Gamblin, who was working the front door at Club Q the night Aldrich opened fire inside. Gamblin, 30, attended Tuesday’s federal court hearing in Denver. “Honestly, I was hoping for a death sentence. i feel like [they] I just got locked up, personally, it feels like 2208 years ago, it’s like [they] punished, go sit in your room for the rest of your life. Death penalty for me… I just want it [them] to sit with the thought of never knowing when [they’re] I will die, or the fact [they] it can die any day, any time, because that’s just what it is [they] do to us.’
Aldrich faces 50 hate crime charges, including using a firearm to cause bodily harm and attempted murder. And the shooter faces additional charges of using a firearm to commit a crime of violence.
Federal Magistrate Scott Warholak read the charges aloud to the shooter and their attorney. U.S. Attorney Cole Finnegan was on the front row but declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Those charges carry possible death sentences, but those will not be sought as a result of the deal reached by prosecutors, court documents said.
Federal authorities announced last week that they would seek the death penalty in another mass shooting case with hate crime charges in Buffalo, New York.
Aldrich will serve multiple concurrent life sentences plus additional consecutive terms totaling 190 years in prison.
Five people were killed in the November 2022 shooting — Raymond Green Vance, 22; Daniel Aston, 28; Ashley Pough, 35; Derrick Rump, 38; and Kelly Loving, 40. Another 17 bar patrons were shot.
The shooter is currently in a Wyoming state prison, a move the Department of Corrections said was due to safety concerns surrounding the high-profile case. According to the Wyoming Department of Corrections website, the facility houses male offenders.
Club Q remains closed after the shooting.
Club spokesman Michael Anderson said in a statement that he was grateful to the district attorney and pleased with the federal decision to bring hate charges.
“Every single person in our country must be guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What the shooter chose to do on November 19, 2022, was a malicious and bigoted act of violence designed to deprive countless lives of those rights — including my own,” Anderson said. “While justice cannot undo the bullets fired, the lives forever changed, and the friends we lost that terrible night, I hope these additional charges will serve as a deterrent to any other individual who seeks to commit violence.”
Last fall, the current owners announced plans to reopen at a new location, leaving the location where it operated for more than 20 years. There were initially plans to renovate and rebuild the club at the site of the shooting, but pushback from some survivors led to the change. The club will also have a new name: The Q. An official opening date has not been announced, but Q spokesman Michael Anderson said the space “will strive to provide a safe, affirming and inclusive environment.”
Gamblin, standing outside the federal courthouse in Denver, said she was “on the road to recovery” and cooperating with federal prosecutors.
She said she told them she would like to see the death penalty in this case.
“I’m pretty sure they’re tired of hearing from me,” Gamblin said. “I wish this was a country with the death penalty. That’s a long-standing opinion.”
