FBI agents on Thursday arrested a friend of Dylann Roof, the white, 21-year-old gunman who massacred nine black churchgoers at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina earlier this summer.
The agents arrested Joseph “Joey” Meek Jr. while he was at work, his girlfriend, Lindsey Fry, told The State newspaper.
A anonymous federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Meek had been informed last month in a letter that he was under investigation for lying to law enforcement and misprision of a felony. That suggests authorities believe Meek allegedly knew about a crime before or after it was committed, but didn’t report it.
Meek did speak to investigators in the wake of the shooting. In a previous interview with the AP, he said he called the FBI as soon as he recognized Roof in surveillance video from the shooting.
He also told the AP that he and Roof, who attended high school together, had reconnected in the weeks before the shooting. Meek said that Roof complained to him that “blacks were taking over the world” and spoke of a “plan” after buying a .45-caliber Glock pistol with his birthday money.
This post has been updated.
Sounds to me like they’ve got a case.
If they’re going after him for not reporting the crime before it happened, that will be a tough case to make. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but before the fact, differentiating between a genuine plan and the bloviations of a loudmouth is pretty difficult. If he lied to investigators after the fact, that’s a different matter.
It amazes me how many people don’t know that you’re not required to talk to law enforcement at all. Unless they’re prepared to place you under arrest, they can’t “take you downtown” for questioning. And if you are placed under arrest, you say absolutely nothing except to acknowledge your identity and say, “I want to speak to an attorney.”
If that’s all they’ve got, I don’t think so. Stupid people spout off about things all the time. If those around them reported that kind of loud, boastful talk every time, the police would be completely overwhelmed.
It is a difficult case to make, but lying to the investigators afterwards isn’t necessarily required.
There are 4 elements the state must prove:
Its the act of concealment that is the crucial piece in determining that final point. Just knowing about the crime isn’t enough, the government has to show that the defendant took action to try and conceal he had knowledge of the crime.
So, if someone spouts off in an instant message that they are gonna kill a bunch of black people, you aren’t guilty if you don’t go to the authorities…UNLESS you try to cover up that conversation, like say, deleting the message.
Regarding after arrest, it reminds me of my Criminal Procedure professor’s sage advice:
“If you are ever arrested, say two things - one out loud and one to yourself. Out loud - ‘I want my attorney.’ To yourself - ‘shut the F*** up, stupid.’”