Suspect in Charleston church shooting due in federal court

The man accused of slaying nine parishioners as they worshipped at a South Carolina church was expected in court Friday to face dozens of federal charges, including hate crimes and obstructing the practice of religion.

Dylann Storm Roof, 21, entered the plea while facing 33 federal criminal charges for allegedly attacking a church on June 17, according to The Charleston Post and Courier.

Roof is represented by Charleston County Public Defender Ashley Pennington and Bill McGuire, who handles only capital cases.

If he’s found guilty of the federal charges, Roof faces life imprisonment or the death penalty, but federal prosecutors said they haven’t decided on whether to seek the death penalty.

Family members of the victims of the shooting were in the courtroom during the hearing. “This is a long journey, but most certainly we are committed to the task to make sure justice is done”.

The incident also sparked a national debate around the removal of the Confederate flag, symbolic of America’s slave owning past, and prompted South Carolina to remove the flag from its Capitol grounds shortly afterwards.

Court records show David Bruck has been provisionally appointed to defend 21-year-old Dylann Roof on federal charges. Roof is set to go to trial next summer, and both lawyers wrote that they need to focus all their attention on his case until then.

His attorneys could not advise him on those counts, it said, given the federal government is undecided on whether it is seeking the death penalty. Sharonda Singleton, DePayne Middleton Doctor, and Daniel Simmons Sr.; and Cynthia Hurd, Myra Thompson, Ethel Lance, and Susie Jackson.