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Pulse nightclub shooter's wife accused of misleading police in wake of husband's massacre
Screenshot/Social Media
The wife of the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, appeared in court on Tuesday, accused of misleading authorities investigating the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Noor Salman, 30 faces up to life in prison on a charge of aiding and abetting husband Omar Mateen's attempt to provide material support to a terrorist organization and is also accused of obstructing justice, according to federal prosecutors.
The first person charged by U.S. authorities in connection with the 2016 massacre, she did not enter a plea at her initial court appearance. Dressed in a yellow t-shirt and gray sweatpants, she spoke only to acknowledge she understood the court proceedings.
Salman was arrested on Monday in California, where she was living with her mother in the San Francisco area, according to her uncle, Al Salman, who denied her alleged role in the attack.
"She had no idea," he told reporters outside the courthouse, adding that she was "absolutely not" involved.
Mateen was killed in a shootout with police after he took hostages during a three-hour standoff in the Pulse nightclub. He wounded dozens more in the June 12 shooting, which intensified fears about attacks by Americans inspired by Islamic State.
The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, was returned last week by a federal grand jury in the U.S. Middle District of Florida, which includes Orlando. U.S. prosecutors expect Salman to be transferred there to face the charges, said William Daniels, a spokesman for the Florida federal district.
The indictment accuses her of criminal activity beginning as early as April, several months before the massacre. It said she abetted Mateen in providing support to a designated terrorist organization and engaged in "misleading conduct" toward authorities regarding the Pulse attack.
Screenshot/Social Media
Mateen, 29, pledged allegiance to the leader of Islamic State during the rampage in which he used an assault rifle and pistol that had been legally purchased. He had twice been investigated by the FBI for possible connections with militant Islamist groups.
U.S. authorities have said Mateen, who lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, with Salman and their young child, was self-radicalized and acted alone without assistance or orders from abroad.
Salman, a U.S. citizen and the daughter of parents who immigrated from the West Bank in 1985, was repeatedly questioned by investigators.
"She is a very simple person," Al Salman said. "I know that justice will prevail, and she is going to show that she is innocent."
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