![Dylann Storm Roof appears by closed-circuit televison at his bond hearing in Charleston Dylann Storm Roof appears by closed-circuit televison at his bond hearing in Charleston](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/dylann-roof-charleston.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
By NBC News
Federal public defenders have been appointed to represent Dylann Roof in connection with the shooting deaths last week at an African-American church in South Carolina — an indication that federal charges could be filed in addition to nine state murder counts.
A U.S. magistrate’s judge in Charleston named two members of the public defender’s office to represent Roof this week, citing a separate investigation the Justice Department opened after the shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Roof, 21, hasn’t yet been charged with a federal crime, but U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said federal authorities are investigating the shootings as a possible hate crime.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com