The suspected gunman who confessed to killing nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last month is expected to appear in court Thursday.

The mass shooting took place on June 17, when 21-year-old Dylann Roof opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church while the church members were attending a Bible study. Altogether, nine people were killed, including the church's pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, 41. Three people survived.

On Thursday, Roof will appear in court as a judge considers whether documents in the case should be made public. The shooter will also be presented with an indictment on the charges of nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of weapons possession, reports Reuters. In addition, he faces possible federal hate crime charges since the incident is being investigated as a hate crime and officials found evidence that he espoused racist ideology.

The South Carolina Press Association is challenging a gag order issued by Ninth Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson on potential trial participants and his ban on the release of documents in the case, including 911 police dispatch calls, coroner's reports and witness statements. According to Judge Nicholson, he issued the order "due to substantial pre-trial publicity" that could jeopardize Roof's right to a fair trial.

The press association, on the other hand, argues the public has a right to access to documents in the case and that the judge's order is overreaching.

It remains unclear whether or not Roof will enter a plea on Thursday during his first appearance in court since a magistrate's bond hearing on June 19.

Following the shooting, President Obama reignited his call for tougher gun control laws.

"We do know that once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun," Obama in a speech in June, reports CNN. "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this kind of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it."