Alleged Colorado Shooter’s Grandfather is a California Lawmaker Who Celebrated Jan. 6 as ‘Lexington and Concord’: Report
Randy Voepel via Twitter
A man who allegedly opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado over the weekend is the grandson of a California assemblyman who celebrated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to reports.
Police say Anderson Aldrich entered the Q Club in Colorado Springs and opened fire. Two bartenders and three patrons were killed while 25 others were wounded. The suspect was subdued by two patrons, arrested by responding officers, and faces murder and hate crime charges.
Monday, Aldrich was reported to be the maternal grandson of Republican California assemblyman Randy Voepel, according to multiple outlets.
The San Diego Union-Tribune connected the alleged shooter to Voepel through his daughter Laura Voepel.
“Laura Voepel is the daughter of state Assemblymember Randy Voepel, 71, who has represented the 71st District since 2016,” Teri Figueroa and David Hernandez with the Union-Tribune reported. “He served on the Santee City Council as a council member and mayor for two decades.”
The report added:
In April 2020, Voepel posted on Facebook about her father: “Keep up the work Dad — You work hard to improve our lives and a lot of us take notice.” Her earlier posts include a television interview with him, and a link to a video of Voepel talking about a bill he’d introduced.
Mr. Voepel praised the actions of the rioters who descended on the U.S. Capitol last January.
“Yes, this is Lexington and Concord,” he texted a reporter in a reference to one of the early skirmishes between British troops and American militiamen in 1775. “First shots fired against tyranny.”
Vopel added, “Tyranny will follow in the aftermath of the Biden swear in [sic] on January 20th.” The Union-Tribune reported Mr. Voepel later walked back the comments following a backlash:
Voepel said he meant to convey the sentiments of constituents in a very conservative district, not his own views. But he was literally asked to share his own thoughts and did not cite constituents. In our interview, he condemned violence and said that he feared tyranny from both the left and the right. But what Voepel texted Jan. 6 can’t be spun away. He praised seditious behavior fueled by a president’s lies. As a military veteran, he should be embarrassed, and he owes his law-abiding constituents an apology.
