“Roof, 22, faces 33 counts of federal hate crime and firearm charges in the 2015 massacre of nine black worshippers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.

“’Following the department’s rigorous review process to thoroughly consider all relevant factual and legal issues, I have determined that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty,’ Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Tuesday. ‘The nature of the alleged crime and the resulting harm compelled this decision.’”