Feds to file hate crime charges in Charleston shooting, report says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department likely will file federal hate crime charges against the suspect in the recent South Carolina church shooting, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing law enforcement officials.

Dylann Roof, 21, is accused of killing nine people at a Charleston church in a shooting that is believed to be racially motivated. The chief prosecutor on the case has not decided whether to seek the death penalty against him.

In related news, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has directed that four Confederate flags be taken down from a Confederate memorial at the state Capitol.

Also, leaders of America’s core white supremacist groups have a laundry list of perceived grievances. They say the media ignore black on white crime; that desegregation has led to poorer schools for white students; that white people in the United States have lost power to black people.