Lynch: Justice Dept. to seek death penalty against Dylann Roof

Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Tuesday that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty against Charleston church shooting suspect Dylann Roof.

“The nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm compelled this decision,’’ Lynch said in written statement.

Last July, Lynch announced federal hate crime charges against the then-21-year-old suspect, alleging that Roof sought to ignite racial tensions across the country by targeting Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church because of its local and historical significance.

The 33-count federal indictment charged Roof with 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.''

Roof charged with federal hate crimes

Federal charges followed a murder indictment lodged by a South Carolina grand jury. Traditionally, a federal prosecution would follow the local case. Last month, a South Carolina judge scheduled the state trial for next January and prosecutors have said they'll also seek the death penalty.

"On that summer evening, Dylann Roof found his targets, African Americans engaged in worship,'' Lynch said in first announcing the federal charges related to the June 17 rampage. "The parishioners had Bibles. Dylann Roof had his 45-caliber Glock pistol and eight magazines loaded with hollow point bullets ... Dylann Roof drew his pistol and opened fire on them.''

Federal authorities began working with local investigators immediately after the shooting, and within hours of the attack Lynch launched the inquiry into whether the accused gunman was motivated by racial bias.

The inquiry also included a review of whether Roof's alleged crimes constituted an act of domestic terrorism. The attorney general had said the alleged offenses represented "archetypal behavior'' for the application of the hate crime statute.  Associates of the suspect have asserted that Roof sought to ignite a race war.

The Justice Department, in a Tuesday court filing providing formal notice of its intention to seek the death penalty, cited the multiple victims in the "racially motivated'' attack and the "substantial planning and premeditation'' by the alleged gunman as support for the decision.

Roof "has expressed hatred and contempt towards African Americans, as well as other groups, and his animosity towards African Americans played a role in the murders charged in the indictment,'' the court documents state.

Federal authorities asserted in the documents that Roof targeted the Bible study group in an attempt "to magnify the societal impact of the offenses,'' adding that the suspect also has "demonstrated a lack of remorse.''

The last time the federal government carried out an execution was in 2003.

Roof attorney David Bruck declined comment Tuesday.

During Roof's August arraignment, the suspect indicated a desire to plead guilty to the federal charges. But Bruck intervened at the time, saying then that he could not counsel such a decision without knowing whether the government intended to seek death.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant then entered a not guilty plea on the suspect's behalf.