Roof is scheduled to face a federal judge at 11 a.m. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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Asked if he understood that the goal of the hearing was to advise him of his rights, one of which being that he had the right to remain silent, Roof said “yes” softly.
Roof was arrested in North Carolina the day after the mass shooting whose victims included Emanuel’s chief pastor.
Last month’s shooting sparked a national debate over displays of the Confederate flag. One of the lawyers, Wilbur Johnson of Charleston, said the church was “ready, willing and able” to help prosecutors hold Roof “accountable”.
A cross bearing notes of condolence is pictured outside of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
At a press conference last week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said that federal charges against Roof were appropriate because South Carolina has no state hate-crimes law.
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.
Dylann Roof’s lawyer David Bruck told a federal magistrate Friday morning in a hushed courtroom that his client wants to plead guilty to federal hate crimes in the June killings of nine African Americans at a downtown Charleston church. Because of this, the magistrate entered not guilty pleas for Roof. His lawyers waived bail and the judge said it would have not been granted anyway.
“He wishes to plead guilty”, said Bruck during Roof’s arraignment. A decision by the U.S. Justice Department, which has an extensive review process for death penalty-eligible cases, could take months. Dylann Roof’s tentative state trial date for the shooting is set for summer, 2016. Wilson also said that she would discuss it with victims families before deciding.
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Some stared at him from a jury box stone-faced, while others turned and wiped away tears. Roof acknowledged understanding the seriousness of the charges against him and the death penalty they could carry.
