Man Pleads Guilty to Lying and Concealment in Connection with the Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting

Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced today that Joseph Carlton Meek, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, plead guilty to an Indictment charging him with Misprision of a Felony (in violation of 18 U.S.C. §4) and Making a False Statement (in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1001).  Meek entered the guilty plea as a result of his actions following the June 17, 2015, attack on parishioners of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Meek faces a maximum of three years on the Misprision count and five years on the False-Statement count.  United States District Judge Richard Gergel presided over the hearing and will sentence Meek at a later date.

This guilty plea is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, City of Charleston Police Department, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jay N. Richardson and Nathan Williams are prosecuting the case.