Federal charges likely against Dylann Roof

A federal law enforcement official says Justice Department officials are in agreement that last week’s massacre at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, satisfies the definition of a hate crime. That means that federal charges against suspect Dylann Storm Roof are likely.

The official spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the investigation is continuing. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said federal authorities are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime.

On Wednesday, Lynch remarked that hate crimes are “the original domestic terrorism.”