WASHINGTON -- Federal charges against Dylann Roof, who allegedly massacred nine people at a historically black church in South Carolina, came swiftly.

Just over a month after Roof committed what is, arguably, the most heinous act of anti-black terrorism since the days of the civil rights movement, a federal grand jury issued a 33-count indictment for federal hate crimes and firearms charges.

Hate crimes are the original domestic terrorism and we feel that the behavior that is alleged to have occurred here is archetypal behavior that fits the federal hate crimes statutes and vindicates their purpose, Attorney General Loretta Lynch told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.

Roofs intentions were clear. He wanted to murder black people at a black church in order to advance his anti-black agenda as well as to intimidate a civilian population -- the latter goal being a key factor that, under U.S. terrorism laws , denotes whether a particular act of violence constitutes terrorism. He also planned the attack several months in advance and chose Charleston's Emanuel AME Church because of its historical and political significance. So why wasnt Roof indicted on terrorism charges?

Black churches have long been vulnerable to attacks committed by white terrorists because they have always sat at the crux of the black freedom struggle, which makes them inherently political -- a point hit by Slate s Matthew J. Cressler:

Black churches exist as simultaneously religious and political institutions, and that has made them targets. Sermons unpacking scriptural passages also mobilize resistance to racism; hymns that praise God affirm the value of black life in the same breath. For this reason, institutions like Emanuel AME stand as affronts to white supremacy. To paraphrase Frederick Douglass, black churches have long distinguished the Christianity of Christ from slaveholding religion, the Christianity of this land that is Christian in name only. Because of this, black churches have served as ever-present threats to white power.

Lynch addressed the lack of a terrorism charge on Wednesday in response to a question from a Huffington Post reporter. She said she doesnt want people to think the case is being taken any less seriously because that term isnt being employed.

People may feel that because we have such a strong emphasis on terrorism matters since 9/11, that when we talk about matters and dont use that terminology that somehow we dont consider those crimes as serious, she said. And I want to be clear -- nothing could be further from the truth than that. This type of crime in particular -- racially motivated violence -- for which a federal law was specifically enacted to cover is of grave importance to the federal government.

Lynch has a point, and the Justice Department said earlier that it was investigating the Charleston shooting as a possible "act of domestic terrorism ." But it is still important to flesh out why Roof hasn't been indicted as a terrorist.

Since 9/11, many Americans seem to believe that only Islamic extremists commit terror attacks, even though the data dont support this notion and these days, local U.S. law enforcement agencies are actually more concerned about the activities of right-wing extremists.

A study released by the New America Foundation last month showed at least 48 people have been killed stateside by right-wing extremists since the Sept. 11 attacks -- almost double the number of those killed by self-identified jihadists in that time frame. Most of these attacks were carried out by radical anti-government groups or white supremacists.

Its possible that Roof was not charged with terrorism because he acted alone, rather than in concert or inspired by an organization that the federal government has formally designated as a terrorist group. Also, multiple definitions of terrorism exist, making it difficult to say what exactly is and isnt terrorism. Then, one has to consider that U.S. terrorism laws are heavily focused on foreign threats carried out or influenced by terrorist organizations. They also emphasize bombings and plane hijackings as opposed to shootings.

As far as we know, Roof doesnt meet any of these criteria. He didnt belong to any designated terrorist organization. He didnt use a bomb, which could have qualified as a weapon of mass destruction under federal law. He opted for a .45-caliber Glock and hollow-point bullets. And, outside of nine black lives, he didnt hijack anything.