A friend of accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has been charged with lying to federal authorities, BuzzFeed News confirmed.
On Friday in court, he pleaded not guilty, the Associated Press reported. The judge set his bond at $100,000.
According to court documents unsealed on Friday, Joey Meek, 21, lied to the FBI during their investigation of Dylann Roof, and concealed information regarding the case.
The indictment said that Meek initially told a federal agent that he was not aware of Roof's plans to gun down members of Emanuel AME Baptist Church during Bible study, but his statement has been deemed a lie.
He is expected to appear in court today at 11 a.m., according to the AP.
Meek was arrested on Thursday by federal agents.
Meek was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, his girlfriend told The State. An official confirmed the arrest to the Post and Courier. The FBI and the Department of Justice were not immediately available for comment on Meek's arrest or what charges he may have been facing.
Meek was a former classmate of Roof's, and the two had reconnected in the weeks before the shooting. Meek told ABC News following the shooting that Roof had said he wanted to "spark up the race war again." Roof had been staying at the home of Meek and his family.
Meek's arrest came just days after the publication of an in-depth report in the Washington Post on his relationship with Roof and life in the Red Bank, South Carolina trailer. Meek knew that Roof believed in segregation, and during one night of drinking, Roof had said he wanted to do "something crazy." Meek and his girlfriend hid Roof's gun, but they later gave it back, chalking the talk up to the alcohol.
“Would you believe your friend if they said something like that when they were drunk?” Meek told the Post. “You can’t tell me you would. I didn’t believe it. I brushed it off.”
Meek had first been informed in August that he was being investigated for possible crimes, including making false statements to federal agents and hiding knowledge of a crime.
Earlier this week, he told The State that he went to the FBI as soon as he recognized Roof on surveillance footage in the media, and he had committed no crimes.
