Federal prosecutors enter accused SC church killer Roof case

COLUMBIA, SC Without public announcement, Federal prosecutors and a federal judge have quietly entered the Charleston church racial massacre case.

According to an order on the federal judiciary Internet site, Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant of Charleston appointed William Nettles IV of Florence and Ann Walsh of Charleston to represent accused mass killer Dylann Storm Roof. Nettles and Walsh work for the Federal public defenders office.

“The court is advised that (Roof) is under investigation by federal authorities and is entitled to the appointment of counsel,” Marchant wrote in a Monday order.

Federal prosecutors in the case are Nathan Williams of Charleston and Julius “Jay” Richardson of Columbia.

State authorities last week charged Roof with murder in the shootings deaths of nine African Americans at a prayer meeting last week.

However, no final decision has been made as to whether Roof will ultimately be tried by a state authorities or federal authorities. Both the FBI and the State Law Enforcement Division are involved in investigating the case.

Either way, prosecutors will likely seek the death penalty, sources familiar with the S.C. criminal justice system said.

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson is prosecuting that case, and Circuit Public Defender Ashley Pennington and Columbia attorney Boyd Young will defend Roof in state court.

Last week, Justice Department officials announced they were investigating the case as a hate crime. It is not clear what specific law federal prosecutors would press a death penalty case against Roof, but prosecutors could likely seek the death penalty if they charged Roof with civil rights violations where multiple people died as a result of using a deadly weapon.

The deaths of State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Jasper, and eight others in the shootings at Emmanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston sparked widespread outrage and have led to calls to take down the Confederate flag in front of the S.C. State House. The accused Roof is an apparent white supremacist who draped himself in trappings of symbols revered by white extremists, including the Confederate flag.

This story was originally published June 23, 2015 at 6:35 PM.