SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
People view a temporary memorial on August 2, 2020, honoring the victims of a racist shooting targeting Latinos at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas a year earlier.
(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Family Members Condemn Racist El Paso Gunman as Judge Hands Down 90 Life Sentences
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso," said the niece of one of the victims. "We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Jul 07, 2023
The self-described white nationalist who massacred 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style rifle in El Paso, Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences on Friday, following two days of courtroom statements in which survivors and family members of those who were killed in the attack directly addressed the gunman's racist views.
Addressing Patrick Crusius, the survivors condemned the shooter as a "monster" and a "coward" and spoke about the lasting trauma he inflicted on them when he entered a Walmart armed with the gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, intent on killing Latino people in the border city.
Stephanie Melendez, whose father, David Johnson, was killed as he saved his wife and nine-year-old granddaughter from the gunfire by shielding them under a checkout counter, talked about the attack's affect on her daughter Kaitlyn.
"You showed her evil, you showed her monsters do exist outside of storybooks," Melendez told Crusius. "I want you to remember my daughter's cries. I want them to haunt you."
Alfredo Hernandez, whose sister Maribel was killed, also said he no longer has a sense of security when he is in public places and told Crusius he is always "on the lookout for other psychos like you."
Amaris Vega, whose aunt, Teresa Sanchez, was killed by Crusius, told KFOX14 on Thursday that he "failed" to accomplish the goal he put forward in the racist manifesto that he posted online before the attack, in which he said he wanted to address the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso. But he didn't do that," Vega said. "He didn't win. We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Echoing the rhetoric of numerous Republican politicians—including then-President Donald Trump—about a so-called "invasion" by immigrants and asylum-seekers from Central America, Crusius wrote that he was "defending [his] country from cultural and ethnic replacement" and said the people shopping at Walmart on August 3, 2019 were "the instigators."
Since the shooting, the GOP's claims that asylum-seekers are "invading" the U.S. have continued, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp using the term in campaign ads last year. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also persisted in accusing immigrants of an "invasion."
Crusius' sentencing on Friday, and the anguish and grief expressed by the family members of those he killed, served as a reminder that "hateful rhetoric against our communities [has] real consequences," said Erika Andiola, communications director for the Young Center, which advocates for children in the immigration system.
Margaret Juarez, whose father was killed and whose mother survived the attack with injuries, directly addressed Crusius' manifesto and his claim that Hispanic immigrants instigated the shooting.
"Native Americans and Mexicans were already here before your American settler homies rolled in," Juarez said in the courtroom. "Think about that when you say you're defending your country."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The self-described white nationalist who massacred 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style rifle in El Paso, Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences on Friday, following two days of courtroom statements in which survivors and family members of those who were killed in the attack directly addressed the gunman's racist views.
Addressing Patrick Crusius, the survivors condemned the shooter as a "monster" and a "coward" and spoke about the lasting trauma he inflicted on them when he entered a Walmart armed with the gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, intent on killing Latino people in the border city.
Stephanie Melendez, whose father, David Johnson, was killed as he saved his wife and nine-year-old granddaughter from the gunfire by shielding them under a checkout counter, talked about the attack's affect on her daughter Kaitlyn.
"You showed her evil, you showed her monsters do exist outside of storybooks," Melendez told Crusius. "I want you to remember my daughter's cries. I want them to haunt you."
Alfredo Hernandez, whose sister Maribel was killed, also said he no longer has a sense of security when he is in public places and told Crusius he is always "on the lookout for other psychos like you."
Amaris Vega, whose aunt, Teresa Sanchez, was killed by Crusius, told KFOX14 on Thursday that he "failed" to accomplish the goal he put forward in the racist manifesto that he posted online before the attack, in which he said he wanted to address the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso. But he didn't do that," Vega said. "He didn't win. We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Echoing the rhetoric of numerous Republican politicians—including then-President Donald Trump—about a so-called "invasion" by immigrants and asylum-seekers from Central America, Crusius wrote that he was "defending [his] country from cultural and ethnic replacement" and said the people shopping at Walmart on August 3, 2019 were "the instigators."
Since the shooting, the GOP's claims that asylum-seekers are "invading" the U.S. have continued, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp using the term in campaign ads last year. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also persisted in accusing immigrants of an "invasion."
Crusius' sentencing on Friday, and the anguish and grief expressed by the family members of those he killed, served as a reminder that "hateful rhetoric against our communities [has] real consequences," said Erika Andiola, communications director for the Young Center, which advocates for children in the immigration system.
Margaret Juarez, whose father was killed and whose mother survived the attack with injuries, directly addressed Crusius' manifesto and his claim that Hispanic immigrants instigated the shooting.
"Native Americans and Mexicans were already here before your American settler homies rolled in," Juarez said in the courtroom. "Think about that when you say you're defending your country."
The self-described white nationalist who massacred 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style rifle in El Paso, Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences on Friday, following two days of courtroom statements in which survivors and family members of those who were killed in the attack directly addressed the gunman's racist views.
Addressing Patrick Crusius, the survivors condemned the shooter as a "monster" and a "coward" and spoke about the lasting trauma he inflicted on them when he entered a Walmart armed with the gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, intent on killing Latino people in the border city.
Stephanie Melendez, whose father, David Johnson, was killed as he saved his wife and nine-year-old granddaughter from the gunfire by shielding them under a checkout counter, talked about the attack's affect on her daughter Kaitlyn.
"You showed her evil, you showed her monsters do exist outside of storybooks," Melendez told Crusius. "I want you to remember my daughter's cries. I want them to haunt you."
Alfredo Hernandez, whose sister Maribel was killed, also said he no longer has a sense of security when he is in public places and told Crusius he is always "on the lookout for other psychos like you."
Amaris Vega, whose aunt, Teresa Sanchez, was killed by Crusius, told KFOX14 on Thursday that he "failed" to accomplish the goal he put forward in the racist manifesto that he posted online before the attack, in which he said he wanted to address the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."
"My message to the shooter was that he wanted to take down Mexicans. He wanted to get rid of the Hispanic people here in El Paso. But he didn't do that," Vega said. "He didn't win. We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Echoing the rhetoric of numerous Republican politicians—including then-President Donald Trump—about a so-called "invasion" by immigrants and asylum-seekers from Central America, Crusius wrote that he was "defending [his] country from cultural and ethnic replacement" and said the people shopping at Walmart on August 3, 2019 were "the instigators."
Since the shooting, the GOP's claims that asylum-seekers are "invading" the U.S. have continued, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp using the term in campaign ads last year. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also persisted in accusing immigrants of an "invasion."
Crusius' sentencing on Friday, and the anguish and grief expressed by the family members of those he killed, served as a reminder that "hateful rhetoric against our communities [has] real consequences," said Erika Andiola, communications director for the Young Center, which advocates for children in the immigration system.
Margaret Juarez, whose father was killed and whose mother survived the attack with injuries, directly addressed Crusius' manifesto and his claim that Hispanic immigrants instigated the shooting.
"Native Americans and Mexicans were already here before your American settler homies rolled in," Juarez said in the courtroom. "Think about that when you say you're defending your country."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.