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Charleston church suspect’s friend charged with lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation

Andy Savage tells The Associated Press his clients are thankful that charges have been filed against Joey Meek, who was a friend of Dylann Roof, the alleged gunman. The real question here is… for what?

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Joey Meek, a friend of the man accused of entering a famed African American church and shooting nine parishioners to death in Charleston, S.C., was formally charged on Friday with lying to federal authorities and hiding details of the deadly attack.

That official also was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and requested anonymity.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the Emanuel 9 families says they are grateful federal investigators are pursuing the case. Meek said he and Roof were school friends but went their separate ways.

“I didn’t take him serious”, Meek said. “He said he didn’t like how the white race was getting bullied by the blacks, or how the black race was taking over”. CBS adds that Meek is accused of lying to law enforcement.

Meek recalled how Roof spoke about how he wanted racial segregation reinstated.

This could land in a few different ways. Meek’s mother blew him a kiss as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles. Ms. Fry said she has not heard from Meek since Thursday.

A sealed indictment was filed Tuesday against Meek, according to court records. But if someone had taken him serious, this all would all have been avoided.

The arraignment lasted less than 30 minutes, with Meek formally indicted with one misprision of justice charge and one charge of giving false information. You can’t tell me you would. Drunks say all sorts of things and generally forget them when they sober up in the morning.

According to the indictment, Meek knowingly lied to an FBI agent when he said “that he did not know specifics of Dylann Roof’s plan to shoot individuals on a Wednesday, during Bible Study, at an AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina”.

“He said he was planning for about six months to do something insane “, Meek told the paper at the time. Is it possible that Meek was materially complicit in the commission of the act? Authorities have been investigating Meek since the June shooting for allegedly knowing about the crime and not telling authorities, the official said.

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They gave it back to Roof at Fry’s urging. Usually deals are offered to the accomplice in exchange for help in bringing down the big fish, not the other way around.

Charleston church suspect's friend charged with lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation