A South Carolina judge on Thursday set July 11, 2016 as the trial date for Dylann Roof, the man charged with killing nine black church members attending Emanuel AME Church [official website] in Charleston last month. Roof is charged with nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of weapons possession. Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson [official profile] also denied bond [AP report] at the hearing, saying that Roof is a flight risk and an unreasonable danger to the community. The state has not said whether it will seek the death penalty in this case and federal officials have also not announced whether they will seek hate crime charges against Roof. A gag order is currently blocking the release of any police records and photos of victims until June 22, but all parties are able to file a motion if they want to end that gag order.

Dylann Roof attended a bible study session at the Charleston church on June 17. Toward of the meeting, witnesses say Roof opened fire on the group killing six women and three men, including the pastor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who was also a South Carolina State Senator [official profiles]. The suspect was captured [NBC report] the following day in Shelby, North Carolina, about 245 miles away from the location of the shooting. The shooting led to renewed focus on the use of the Confederate flag [UVA backgrounder], with many people across the country calling to end its use, after it was learned that Roof had posted several photos of himself with the flag. The South Carolina Senate [official website] approved a bill [JURIST report] earlier this month to remove the Confederate flag from the State House and the Capitol Complex. The bill was signed into law [JURIST report] by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley [official website] just days later.