Will feds consider a capital prosecution of the racist Buffalo mass murderer?

A little less than seven years ago, I asked in this post whether the state of South Carolina or the feds (or both) would capitally prosecute racist mass murderer Dylann Storm Roof after he slaughtered nine people at a historic black church in Charleston.  The feds decided to take the lead pursuing and securing a federal death sentence for Roof, which he is currently appealing to the Supreme Court.

Sadly, this past weekend saw another horrific racist mass murder in Buffalo.  But this time, because New York does not have the death penalty, only the feds are in a position to pursue a capital prosecution.  This local article, headlined "Many paths possible in prosecution of man accused of slaying 10 at Tops," provides this account of the legal lay of the land:

The Erie County District Attorney's Office and federal prosecutors each will have the chance to prosecute the man accused of slaying 10 people and wounding three others in Saturday's hate-inspired attack in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo.

But there is no definitive answer yet on precisely what that process will look like. Payton S. Gendron, 18, already faces a state charge of first-degree murder for the massacre at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue. Federal authorities have said they are investigating the mass killing "both as a hate crime and racially motivated violent extremism."

While New York State has no death penalty, the federal government does. A decision by federal prosecutors on whether to seek the death penalty is likely months away, according to veteran area defense attorneys.

Gendron can simultaneously face charges in both state and federal court, or one case can proceed before the other. Being charged in both state and federal courts would not violate the constitutional prohibition on "double jeopardy" because both levels of authority have jurisdiction at the same time, said Thomas J. Eoannou, a defense attorney who is not involved in representing Gendron. "The legal process will be very involved," Eoannou said, even though the evidence "appears, at this point, to be overwhelming."

If convicted of first-degree murder in state court, the maximum sentence Gendron faces is life in prison with no possibility of parole.... Gendron currently faces a murder count that encompasses all 10 victims who were killed, and county prosecutors are still evaluating potential options for what he may be charged with, the district attorney said....

It will be "fairly easy" for federal prosecutors to charge Gendron with a hate crime, based on the contents of his racist diatribe and what was written on the gun he used, defense attorney Paul J. Cambria Jr. said....

Some attorneys, including Eoannou and Joseph J. Terranova, said they expect the federal prosecution to happen first. A recent case similar to what happened here, Eoannou said, is that of Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at an historically Black church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015. Roof was first prosecuted federally and received the death penalty. Then he pleaded guilty in state court.

The decision on whether to seek the death penalty would come from U.S. Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C., and a federal jury's decision to impose the death penalty would have to be unanimous, Eoannou said.