U.S. prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022, marking the first time the Biden administration has initiated capital punishment proceedings.

The U.S. Justice Department in a court filing on Friday said it would seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron for killings motivated by his "animus toward Black persons."

Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the mass shooting, has already pleaded guilty to separate state charges of murder and domestic terrorism and was sentenced last February to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Gendron's defense lawyers previously said he would consider pleading guilty to more than two dozen federal charges - including hate crime and firearm offenses - if the death penalty was taken off the table.

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