EL PASO, TX – Six months after the horrendous mass shooting that resulted in the death of 22 people at an El Paso, TX Walmart, alleged shooter Patrick Crusius has pleaded not guilty to all 90 federal charges.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel Torres, Crusius was in court wearing a suit and in shackles.
According to KTXS, the federal charges Crusius faces include hate crimes related to the Aug. 3 shooting. He is also facing 22 state capital murder charges.
At the hearing last week, several shooting victims and members of the community were present in the courtroom.
According to court records, Crusius was scheduled to appear before the court for arraignment on February 18, but that was canceled after he pled not guilty to all federal charges.
Crusius’ defense lawyer, David Lane, was attempting to vacate the detention hearing. Detention hearings are typically used to asses flight risk and decide if the suspect is eligible to be released on bond or bail.
"All I can say is we are starting this process and our job is to protect your constitutional rights, as well as that of the accused,” said Lane. “We are going to do everything in our power to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of America.”
Lane declined to further comment on the reasons why he was requesting the hearing to be vacated.
Lane was ordered by Judge Torres to file an official motion requesting for the hearing to be vacated. The judge accepted Crusius' waiver and directed the not guilty plea to be entered into the record.
Crusius is now in federal custody and was released from jail on Tuesday to be rebooked into the El Paso County Jail by U.S. marshals.
Additionally, Crusius lawyer filed a court order that requested for private transportation to and from federal court for Crusius on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama granted the order Tuesday for U.S. deputy marshals to transport Crusius.
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