Friend of Alleged Charleston Church Shooter Arrested by FBI

The indictment alleges Meek is guilty of “misprision of a felony” in that he concealed “knowledge of the actual commission of a felony” and “did not, as soon as possible, make known the same to some judge or other person in civil authority under the United States”.

Meek has said that Dylann Roof, who is accused of killing nine black church members during Bible study on June 17, stayed with him before the shootings.

After hearing the description of the suspect in the Charleston church shooting, Meek told CNN he called the FBI the next morning, giving authorities detailed descriptions of what Roof was wearing and the license plate on his vehicle .

Federal authorities formally notified Meek on August . 6 that he was the subject of an investigation. Meek also allegedly allowed Roof to sleep at his home in the weeks leading up to the incident.

A 33-count federal indictment issued in July charges Roof with the nine murders, three attempted murders and multiple firearms offenses as part of a long-planned assault in which Roof allegedly singled out victims “because of their race and in order to interfere with their exercise of their religion”. Meek may also be fined as much as $500,000 for both charges.

Though they thought the talk was drunken bluster, Scriven and Meek were concerned enough that they went out to Roof’s auto and took Roof ‘s handgun, hiding it until they all sobered up, Meek said.

Fry, 19, said she and one of Meek’s brothers testified before a grand jury, answering questions about what Meek did after finding out about the shootings and about Roof’s activities.

Joey Meek, 21, pleaded not guilty before a federal magistrate in Columbia on Friday. They’d lost contact several years ago but had recently resumed their friendship, Meek told journalists, adding that there were things about Roof’s recent behavior that scared him.

“He’s really anxious “, Ms. Fry said.

“Agents picked up Joseph “Joey” Meek Jr., 21, of Red Bank while he was at work Thursday afternoon, his girlfriend Lindsey Fry told The State newspaper just before 4 p.m”. It wouldn’t be a surprise, he said, to learn that more people knew about Roof’s scheme or failed to help the police after the massacre.

The State reports that earlier in the week, Meek said he didn’t believe he had committed any crime. Federal prosecutors have yet to announce whether they will follow suit or not.