Accused El Paso Walmart shooter intends to plead guilty to federal charges, court docs show

By Andi Babineau, CNN

The man accused of killing 23 people and wounding nearly two dozen others in the 2019 mass shooting at a Texas Walmart in 2019 intends to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court filings.

Days after the US government indicated it would not seek the death penalty, attorneys for Patrick Crusius filed a motion for a rearraignment, indicating he would change his earlier plea of not guilty.

“Defendant notifies the Court of his intention to enter a plea of guilty to the pending indictment,” the motion reads, and court records show the motion was granted.

Crusius, who is due back in court February 8, was indicted on 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and the use of a firearm to commit murder. The shooting, which took place in El Paso on August 3, 2019, marked one of the deadliest attacks on Latinos in modern US history.

Crusius previously pleaded not guilty to a state capital murder charge. The district attorney’s office in that case filed a notice indicating it would seek the death penalty.

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CNN’s Dakin Andone and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.