Prosecutors portray Orlando gunman’s widow as a liar

Jose Louis Morales sits and prays under his brother Edward Sotomayor Jr.'s cross that is part of a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Pulse night club shootings in Orlando

By Joey Roulette

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – A federal prosecutor portrayed the widow of the Orlando nightclub gunman as a liar during closing arguments in her trial on Wednesday, saying she sought to mislead investigators probing the attack that killed 49 people in 2016.

Noor Salman, the widow of gunman Omar Mateen, initially lied to investigators in the 12 hours after the rampage at Pulse nightclub, but later admitted knowing her husband had left their home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online, prosecutor Sara Sweeney told jurors.

“You’re going to have to find that Ms. Salman knowingly engaged in misleading conduct,” Sweeney said as the prosecution and defense began their final pitches to jurors.

Salman, 31, could face life in prison if convicted on charges of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group.

“She does not have to be his equal in the attack” to show she helped her husband carry it out, Sweeney said in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida.

Sweeney also said the Disney Springs entertainment and shopping complex had been Mateen’s original target when he left home on the night of the June 12, 2016, massacre before ending up at Pulse.

Trial witnesses had hinted at the switch in targets, but Sweeney’s assertion on Wednesday was the first time prosecutors had acknowledged it.

Prosecutors allege Salman helped Mateen case possible attack sites and did nothing to stop the massacre at the gay nightspot. Mateen had claimed allegiance to a leader of Islamic State, and police killed him in an exchange of gunfire.

Prosecutors have argued that Salman first told investigators her husband acted without her knowledge but later said she knew he was watching Islamic State recruitment videos, had bought an assault-style rifle and had examined three possible sites for attack.

The only evidence from Salman’s initial interviews are handwritten statements because Federal Bureau of Investigation agents did not use video or audio recordings of the interrogation.

Defense lawyers contend Salman was a simple woman who loved children and that FBI investigators coerced her into confessing. Salman was at home with the couple’s then-3-year-old son during the attack and was unaware of Mateen’s plans, they have said.

The trial judge, Paul Byron, on Monday rejected a defense motion to dismiss the charges or declare a mistrial because the prosecution had failed to disclose Mateen’s father had been an FBI informant before the nightclub attack.

(Writing by Ian Simpson in Washington; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)

Widow of Orlando nightclub gunman knew of his plans, prosecutors say

Investigators work the scene following a mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando Florida, U.S. on June 12, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

By Joey Roulette

ORLANDO (Reuters) – The widow of the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 made statements to federal investigators after the attack that proved she knew of her husband’s plans, prosecutors told jurors on Wednesday.

But the defense attorney said Noor Salman was unaware that her husband, gunman Omar Mateen, intended to carry out the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, 2016.

“I wish I had gone back and told his family what he was going to do,” Salman told Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Mandolfo told jurors during his opening statement at Salman’s federal trial.

Salman made that comment right after she said she was sorry for the shooting rampage that had happened hours earlier, Mandolfo said. The prosecutor said her comment showed she had foreknowledge of the attack.

Salman, 31, faces up to life in prison if she is convicted in U.S. District Court in Orlando of aiding and abetting her husband and obstructing a federal investigation. She is the only person charged in the attack, which ended with Mateen’s death in an exchange of gunfire with police.

Salman was at home with the couple’s then-3-year-old son during her husband’s shooting spree. Defense attorney Linda Moreno told jurors Salman was unaware of her husband’s sinister plans.

“Noor was in the dark about Omar’s secret and despicable life,” Moreno said.

Moreno said the FBI did not record its interrogation of Salman and coerced her into making statements that favored the prosecution.

The trial is expected to last for a month.

According to prosecutors, Salman initially told investigators her husband acted without her knowledge but later acknowledged being aware that he was watching Islamic State recruitment videos, had purchased an assault rifle and examined three possible attack locations.

Salman’s attorneys contend the U.S. government could not show any direct links between Mateen and Islamic State before the attack and has provided no evidence that Salman aided her husband.

Salman was indicted on two charges: obstruction of justice for alleged false statements to federal investigators, and aiding and abetting Mateen in his attempt to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Mateen, 29, opened fire shortly after the last call for drinks on the club’s popular Latin night.

Holding hostages during his standoff with police, he claimed allegiance to a leader of the Islamic State militant group before being fatally shot.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette in Orlando, Florida; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and David Gregorio)