America

Charleston Shooting Suspect Roof To Be Indicted On Federal Hate Crime Charges

Dylann Roof, seen here at a recent court hearing in Charleston, S.C., will face federal hate crime charges over a mass shooting that police say he carried out at a black church. i

Dylann Roof, seen here at a recent court hearing in Charleston, S.C., will face federal hate crime charges over a mass shooting that police say he carried out at a black church. Grace Beahm/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Grace Beahm/AP
Dylann Roof, seen here at a recent court hearing in Charleston, S.C., will face federal hate crime charges over a mass shooting that police say he carried out at a black church.

Dylann Roof, seen here at a recent court hearing in Charleston, S.C., will face federal hate crime charges over a mass shooting that police say he carried out at a black church.

Grace Beahm/AP

Dylann Roof, who police say carried out a ruthless attack that killed nine black worshipers in a Charleston, S.C., church, will face federal hate crime charges along with more than a dozen other serious charges he's already accused of.

A federal law enforcement source confirms to NPR's Carrie Johnson that the Justice Department will unveil federal charges against Dylann Roof today.

Roof already faces nine counts of murder, along with attempted murder and a weapons charge. His trial on those charges is set to begin next summer.

News of the hate-crimes indictment comes a month after photos and a racist manifesto were found on a website that appears to have been set up by Roof, the 21-year-old who was arrested the day after nine people were slain in a mass shooting at Charleston's Emanuel A.M.E. Church.

Reporting on the pending indictment today, the Charleston Post and Courier notes, "South Carolina is one of only five states that does not have a hate crimes law, despite some legislators' repeated attempts to change that."

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