A Texas man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday for carrying out the deadly 2019 shooting that killed 23 Latinos in El Paso.
Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty to all 90 federal charges brought against him, which included hate crimes and crimes of violence while using a firearm. All 23 people killed by Crusius were of Latino descent; dozens of people were also injured in the shooting.
“Nothing can undo the immeasurable loss suffered by the loved ones of the victims of that attack or the terror inflicted on the El Paso community in its wake,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday in a news release. “Today’s action makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate hate-fueled violence that endangers the safety of our communities.”
The prosecution recommended that Crusius serve 90 consecutive life sentences. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June.
The racist motivation behind the shooting was made clear in court documents.
Crusius wrote a manifesto in which he called himself a White nationalist who was intent on killing Latinos because they were immigrating to the U.S. The more than 2,000-word screed was uploaded minutes before Crusius began his attack on Aug. 3, 2019.
“This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” Crusius wrote, according to an indictment reported on by CNN. “They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion.”
The shooter first gunned down a pedestrian in a parking lot before directing his fire at people fundraising for a soccer team, prosecutors said. He then shot and killed nine people near a bank entrance inside a Walmart after cornering them.
Crusius had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges when federal officials were seeking the death penalty. After prosecutors rescinded their interest in pursuing capital punishment last month, Crusius accepted the guilty plea.
The shooter could still face the death penalty at a state trial in Texas, which has yet to begin.
• This story was written in part by wire service reports.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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