The Justice Department will likely file federal hate crime charges against suspected Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, 21, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Roof already faces nine counts of murder and could also face the death penalty in state court.
Even with the existing charges, the federal government felt compelled to address the apparently racially motivated attack that left nine dead after an evening bible study at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston. One law official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to publicly discuss the case, told The New York Times, "This directly fits the hate crime statute. This is exactly what it was created for." The timing of the charges remains undecided.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'The House GOP is begging to lose their majority'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pig kidney transplant recipient diesSpeed Read Richard Slayman has passed away two months after undergoing the historic procedure
-
Putin replaces defense minister with economistSpeed Read In a surprising shake-up, Putin replaced Sergei Shoigu with civilian economist Andrei Belousov
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking caseSpeed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black menSpeed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughterspeed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
