NBC News correspondent Niala Charles struggled to avoid using the pronouns that fit the alleged Colorado Springs shooter’s biological sex while covering the suspect’s criminal charges.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been charged with 305 counts for allegedly killing five and injuring several others in the Club Q nightclub. El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen formally charged the suspect with these charges that include murder, attempted murder, and assault.
Following accusations that the political right’s rhetoric led to the shooting, attorneys later revealed that Aldrich identifies as “non-binary” and uses “they/them” pronouns. While covering the charges on NBC News on Tuesday, Charles attempted to use Aldrich’s preferred pronouns.
“The defense says its client uses ‘they/them’ pronouns, which doesn’t indicate their sexual identity and clearly hasn’t stopped the district attorney with charging them with bias. Prosecutors say there’s an voluminous amount of evidence in this case to support those charges, and as for the penalties, in the state of Colorado, there isn’t a death penalty, so the suspect is looking at a possible life in prison. In court today, the suspect was in a yellow jumpsuit and significantly less bruised than when we saw them in their last court appearance and after two people charged him—them and prevented them from doing even more damage, hurting even more people.”
WATCH:
Liberal media pushed the narrative that the right’s opposition to Drag Queen Story Hour for children spurred hatred and violence toward gay and transgender people. MSNBC anchors Joy Reid and Chris Hayes accused the “right-wing” of becoming obsessed with attacking drag shows for children on their program directly following the shooting. (RELATED: ‘Look Inward And Change’: Ocasio-Cortez Lambast Boebert Over Colorado Springs Shooting)
“It makes me sad … that that scares right-wing people so much that they would try to ban it or your governor sued people over it, and then people act surprised when there’s violence against people who are trans and LGBTQ,” Reid said.
A footnote on the court filing by attorneys addressed Aldrich’s gender identity and preferred pronouns, saying he will be referred to as “they/them” and “Mx. Aldrich” in all legal documents. The alleged suspect is suspected to have intentionally targeted Club Q for its LGBTQ setting and has been formally charged with bias-related crimes.