Patrick Crusius, the gunman who fatally shot 23 people at a Walmart store in El Paso in a 2019 targeted attack against people of Mexican descent, has been sentenced this Friday to 90 consecutive life terms.
The life sentences, which will be served consecutively, were handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama. Crusius will be serving the rest of his prison time at the ADX Florence supermax federal prison near Florence, Colorado, per Judge David C. Guaderrama’s orders. According to reports, that prison currently houses some of the worst criminals in U.S. history, including Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols.
When learning his fate this morning in court, Crusius, who wore a jumpsuit and shackles, did not speak during the hearing and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. However, as Crusius was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted at him: “We’ll be seeing you again, coward. No apologies, no nothing” said Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was killed in the attack.
The gunman’s defense team told the judge that their client was suffering from a “mental disorder” and claimed he had schizoaffective… however, prosecutors dismissed that as an explanation for his violent attack.
“What happened was a cold, calculated scheme targeting immigrants and Hispanics,” federal prosecutor Ian Martinez Hanna said. “A shooting spree that spared no one. It was not a crime of passion. It was not an accident. It was a calculated act that he planned.”
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Crusius was 21 years old when authorities say he drove more than 10 hours from his home in an upper-class Dallas suburb to El Paso to carry out the attack on Aug 23, 2019. He killed 23 people and injured 22 more.
In February 2023, he pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court to a 90-count indictment, including 45 counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and 45 counts of using a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence.
The guilty plea included 23 counts for hate crime acts that resulted in the deaths of Andre Anchondo, Jordan Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Guillermo Garcia, Leonardo Campos, Angelina Englisbee, Maria Flores, Raul Flores, Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, Alexander Hoffmann, David Johnson, Luis Alfonso Juarez, Maria Legarreta Rothe, Maribel Loya Hernandez, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Gloria Irma Marquez, Elsa Mendoza Marquez, Margie Reckard, Sara Regalado Monreal, Javier Amir Rodriguez, Teresa Sanchez, and Juan Velasquez.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time, “Today, the Justice Department secured the guilty plea of Patrick Wood Crusius, a self-described white nationalist, for federal hate crime and firearms offenses in connection with the deadly mass shooting targeting people perceived to be Hispanic immigrants at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019,” said B. Garland. “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. Today’s action makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate hate-fueled violence that endangers the safety of our communities.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also said at the time, “White nationalist-fueled violence has no place in our society today. “This senseless massacre violates the law, runs contrary to our values as Americans, and defies the principles of tolerance and inclusion that define us as a nation. By pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted that he murdered innocent people based on their national origin and targeted Hispanics. The Justice Department will continue to use every tool at its disposal to combat hate crimes, hold perpetrators accountable, and seek justice for the victims and survivors. This guilty plea cannot bring back those whose lives were lost, or heal those still suffering, but it does put us firmly on the path to justice. Our hearts are with the victims of this horrendous crime, their families, and the entire community.”
Crusius’ sentencing means that he will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The life sentences were the maximum the gunman could receive in federal court since the U.S. Attorney’s Office ultimately decided not to seek the death penalty.