Mother of alleged Club Q shooter arrested

Laura Voepel, the mother of the alleged Club Q shooter, has been arrested.

On Saturday, November 19, Anderson Lee Aldrich allegedly entered the LGBTQ+ bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado and opened fire, killing five people and injuring 18.

The next day at 3:30 a.m. – just hours after the shooting – his mother was arrested in Colorado Springs for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

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The Colorado Springs Police Department said that Voepel was told to stop yelling but that she continued to make “unreasonable noise” while in front of several apartments. When officers tried to arrest her, she allegedly became combative.

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Colorado Springs police haven’t said how the interaction started or if it was related to the investigation into the shooting. Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez has already said that Voepel wasn’t cooperating with the investigation.

Voepel is the daughter of outgoing California Republican State Assemblymember Randy Voepel (R), a Trump-loyal Republican who justified the January 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection as a fight against the “tyranny” of President Joe Biden, comparing the riots to the American Revolution.

Last year, Aldrich was arrested and charged with five felonies after threatening Voepel with a homemade bomb and multiple weapons. The threat resulted in a standoff with police. The New York Times reports that police were unable to find any explosives at the time, and Aldrich was never prosecuted.

Aldrich’s father expressed anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment when he learned that Aldrich allegedly killed five people.

“They started telling me about the incident, a shooting,” father Aaron Brink said. “And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew.”

“My opinion about gays is it’s not ok,” Brink continued. “I think we should stand up against homosexuality.”

Voepel has a court appearance scheduled for January 25. Resisting arrest is a class 2 misdemeanor, which means it could carry a penalty of up to 120 days in prison and a fine of $750. Disorderly conduct is a petty offense and can carry a penalty of up to 10 days in jail and a fine of $300.

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