Official: Friend of Charleston Shooter Arrested

Columbia , S.C. (AP) — A friend of the alleged Charleston church shooter is expected to make his first court appearance Friday at 11 a.m. more than a month after authorities told him he was under federal investigation for lying to them and failing to report a crime. Joey Meek, 21, was arrested Thursday, but it wasn’t immediately clear what charges he faces or whether he has an attorney. His girlfriend has said he is innocent. The official close to the investigation spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the case. It’s not immediately clear what charges Meek faces. Authorities notified Meek last month they had begun investigating him for lying to investigators and failing to report a crime. Meek has said Dylann Roof, the alleged church shooter, stayed with him before the June 17 shootings at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal. Meek told The Associated Press that Roof had drunkenly complained that “blacks were taking over the world” and “someone needed to do something about it for the white race.”