FILE - In this June 18, 2015, file photo, Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. Lynch announced that Dylann Roof, the man accused of slaying of nine black church members in Charleston last month was indicted July 22, on 33 federal counts, including hate crimes, firearms violations and obstructing the practice of religion, which could include the death penalty. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) (The Associated Press)
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The man accused of slaying of nine black church members in Charleston last month has been indicted on dozens of federal charges, including 12 hate crime counts.
Documents released Wednesday show a federal grand jury indicted 21-year-old Dylann Roof on the charges. The indictments include a dozen allegations of obstructing someone's religious practice, a charge that can potentially carry the death penalty in the federal system.
Federal charges have been expected since Roof was arrested following the June 17 shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. Roof, who is white, appeared in photos waving Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags, and purportedly wrote of fomenting racial violence.
Prosecutors haven't said if they'll seek the death penalty against Roof on state charges including nine counts of murder.
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