President Barack Obama admits he suspects many of the racist practices a Department of Justice investigation found the Ferguson, Missouri, police department to be guilty of are not just isolated incidents.

"It turns out they weren't just making it up," Obama said of longtime complaints voiced by many black Ferguson residents charging that they have long been wrongly targeted by law enforcement. "This was happening."

According to The Associated Press, the president made his comments on Friday while speaking at a town hall on the campus of South Carolina's Benedict College. On Saturday, Obama was scheduled to take part in an event commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the historic civil rights march in Selma, Alabama.

Released just this week, DOJ's report found what's been described as "patterns of racial profiling, bigotry and profit-driven law enforcement and court practices." City leaders are now scheduled to meet with government officials in hopes of adopting an agenda for change.

"Are they going to enter into some sort of agreement with the Justice Department to fix what is clearly a broken and racially biased system?" Obama said.

Obama himself was the subject of several racist emails floated among Ferguson officers and court employees. In a 2008 transmission, it was written that Obama would not be president for long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years." Another referred to the president as a chimpanzee.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters the federal government is prepared "use all the power that we have to change the situation there." When asked if that might include actually dismantling the department, Holder responded, "If that's what's necessary, we're prepared to do that."