Lexington, South Carolina, Man Indicted for Misprision of a Felony and Making False Statements Relating to Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting

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WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, and U. S. Attorney Bill Nettles of the District of South Carolina announced today an indictment charging Joseph Carlton Meek, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, with misprision of a felony and making false statements.

Meek is alleged to have taken steps to conceal his knowledge of the crimes committed by Dylann Storm Roof, and to have made materially false statements when Meek told a Special Agent of the FBI that he did not know specifics of Roof’s plan to shoot individuals on a Wednesday, during Bible Study, at an AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, prior to Roof’s attack on June 17, 2015.  The misprision count carries up to three years in prison and the false statement charge carries up to five years in prison.      

The indictment is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Charleston Police Department and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay N. Richardson and Nathan Williams of the District of South Carolina are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

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