The judge described the murder committed by Aldrich as an example of the "deepest malaise of the human heart." The fact that the shooter, who identified as non-binary after their arrest, targeted Club Q specifically carries extra weight for the judge. Therefore, Aldrich was convicted of a crime motivated by bias, a hate crime. 

Furthermore, prosecutor Michael Allen addressed the shooter using the personal pronouns 'he' and 'him' instead of 'they' and 'them'. "There is no evidence prior to the shooting that he was non-binary," Allen stated. "In fact, he exhibited extreme hatred towards people in the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups."

According to reports from American media, the trial was an emotional rollercoaster for the victims' families. A mother of a survivor of the massacre pleaded with the judge during the trial to "lock this beast away in the depths of hell." Her daughter was struck by nine bullets. 

However, there is also criticism of the authorities. It is argued that Aldrich would not have had a weapon if the law had been enforced. The shooter had been in contact with the police and the justice system on multiple occasions. A year before the attack on Club Q, they were arrested for writing online that they wanted to become "the next mass murderer." Aldrich found inspiration for this in extreme right-wing acts of terrorism, such as the one in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

Additionally, the shooter ran a neo-Nazi website. The means by which Aldrich obtained a weapon are still under investigation.