According to the Associated Press, Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof will be indicted by a grand jury on federal hate crime charges for the deaths of nine black church members last month.
An unnamed source told AP of the news, and spoke under anonymity because of the private matter regarding the decision. Details from the case’s earlier stages hinted that authorities would seek hate crime charges due to investigations of Roof’s hate group affiliations and allegedly self-penned online manifesto.
READ: Everything You Should Know About The Charleston, South Carolina Shooting
Most of the documents included Roof’s proposition to “take back the country,” authorities said. Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson filed a motion that described several search warrants that were issued on Roof’s properties and vehicles, where police found letters, lists and other incriminating evidence. The motion stated that the evidence is believed to contain guilt and motive behind Roof’s killings.
One of the letters obtained told of an eerie self-conviction to carry out the shootings. “I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight,” the letter read. “I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country.”
The evidence is still under investigation to determine whether or not Roof penned the writings himself. The alleged announcement for his indictments are set for a 3 p.m. press conference by Attorney General Loretta Lynch.