https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/23/colorado-gay-club-shooting-suspect/
In several standard motions filed on behalf of Anderson Lee Aldrich on Tuesday, public defenders refer to the suspect as “Mx. Aldrich," noting in footnotes that Aldrich, 22, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The motions deal with issues like unsealing documents and evidence gathering, not Aldrich's identity and there was no elaboration about it.
Real, or cynical ploy to avoid hate crime charges? how does court work, would this be at the discretion of prosecution to challenge, only if they saw fit? :cringe:
changed name before 16
A petition for the name change was submitted on Brink's behalf by their grandparents, who were their legal guardians at the time.
"Minor wishes to protect himself and his future from any connections to birth father and his criminal history. Father has had no contact with minor for several years," said the petition filed in Bexar County, Texas.
The suspect’s father is a mixed martial arts fighter and pornography performer with an extensive criminal history, including convictions for battery against the alleged shooter’s mother, Laura Voepel, both before and after the suspect was born, state and federal court records show. A 2002 misdemeanor battery conviction in California resulted in a protective order that initially barred the father, Aaron F. Brink, from contacting the suspect or Voepel except through an attorney, but was later modified to allow monitored visits with the child.
The father also was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in custody for importation of marijuana and while on supervised release violated his conditions by testing positive for illegal steroids, according to public records. Brink could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Aldrich's request for a name change came months after Aldrich was apparently targeted by online bullying. A website posting from June 2015 that attacked a teen named Nick Brink suggests they may have been bullied in high school. The post included photos similar to ones of the shooting suspect and ridiculed Brink over their weight, lack of money and what it said was an interest in Chinese cartoons.
Additionally, a YouTube account was opened in Brink's name that included an animation titled “Asian homosexual gets molested."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/21/colorado-springs-qbar-shooter/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-springs-mass-shooting-suspect-anderson-lee-aldrich-changed-name-teenager-records/
Clip of the shooter calling self "ya boy" during 2021 standoff with police https://twitter.com/madprofes/status/1594799319814545408
edited
I don't really get why they'd be doing this to avoid a hate crime charge, since they killed and injured several people specifically at a gay bar. They could've picked a million other places, but chose that target: It's fairly obvious to anyone, left or right, why they did it there. And I would think they would probably be proud of it being labeled a hate crime, not try to shy away from it.
I do think that they're doing this "for the meme" and just to be an asshole, since they know they're probably gonna be in prison for the rest of their life and figure they have nothing to lose by getting in a few more laughs for their fellow chuds to enjoy. (Side note: I don't think non-binary people necessarily divorce themselves from all popular gendered slang, so I don't think the "ya boy" thing is a good example to use)
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