(CNN) — The man accused of killing 23 people in 2019 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges Wednesday in one of the deadliest attacks on Latinos in modern US history.
Patrick Crusius, 24, has pleaded not guilty to a spate of federal charges, including hate crime resulting in death, use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, hate crime involving attempt to kill, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
But after the US government indicated it would not seek the death penalty, attorneys for Crusius filed a motion for a re-arraignment, indicating he would change his plea. That hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon in US District Court in El Paso.
As the epidemic of mass shootings in America drags on, Crusius also faces state charges for the August 3, 2019, massacre that left almost two dozen people wounded. The slain included a 15-year-old soccer player and a 60-year-old Army veteran who would give “a meal and a home to anyone.”
The El Paso County District Attorney’s Office has said it intends to seek the death penalty — Texas’ most serious charge, available when a defendant is accused of killing multiple victims.
Crusius has pleaded not guilty to a state capital murder charge.
Authorities describe a White supremacist manifesto
Authorities say the suspect drove 11 hours from his hometown of Allen, Texas, to El Paso with the sole intent of killing immigrants and Mexicans in the West Texas border city.
About 20 minutes before the massacre, the suspect is believed to have posted a 2,300-word manifesto he wrote titled, “The Inconvenient Truth.” It included White supremacist language, opposed “race mixing” and encouraged immigrants to return to their home countries.
“This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” Crusius wrote, according to an indictment. “They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion.”
Weeks before the shooting, the suspect bought a GP WASR-10 semi-automatic rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online, the indictment states.
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