Judge Rules Accused AME Shooter Can Represent Himself In Hate Crimes Trial

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel today allowed Dylann Roof to represent himself at trial. Roof is a self-identified white supremacist accused of shooting nine black worshipers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015.

The same federal judge ruled Friday that Dylann Roof is mentally competent to stand trial on 33 charges, including violations of hate crime laws. After a three-week delay, jury selection begins today for Roof’s federal trial. The 22-year-old also faces nine counts of murder in a separate state trial set to begin early next year.

Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti gets the latest on the court proceedings from Glenn Smith (@glennsmith5), special projects editor for the Post and Courier.