By Canadian Press

Prosecutor: Orlando gunman’s widow knew about the attack

Jan 16, 2017 | 10:45 AM

OAKLAND, Calif. — The widow of the Orlando nightclub gunman knew about the attack ahead of time and then hindered the criminal investigation when she lied to FBI agents after the shooting, prosecutors said Tuesday during a brief court appearance a day after her arrest in California.

Visibly nervous and bewildered, Noor Salman quietly acknowledged she understood the two felony charges alleging she assisted her husband and obstructed justice. She could face life in prison if convicted of both counts.

She didn’t enter a plea and was ordered back to court Wednesday for the formal appointment of a lawyer and discussions on how to transfer her and the case to federal court in Orlando, where a grand jury indicted her.

She was arrested Monday at her mother’s home in Rodeo, a middle-class suburb about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Salman, 30, was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, with her husband Omar Mateen when he attacked the Pulse nightclub on June 12.

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“She knew he was going to conduct the attack,” federal prosecutor Roger Handberg told the judge Tuesday. Handberg did not disclose any more details and would not comment after the 15-minute hearing held in a courtroom packed with security officers.

Outside court, Salman’s uncle Al Salman said his niece was innocent and did nothing to help Mateen plan the attack on the gay nightclub.

“She’s a very soft and sweet girl,” Salman said. “She would not hurt a fly.”

The indictment charges her with aiding and abetting Mateen in providing material support and resources to the Islamic State group between April and June of last year. She was also charged with obstruction, accused of misleading and lying to police and the FBI during their investigation.

The indictment gave no additional details on Salman’s actions.

During the standoff, Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a 911 call. He was killed in a shootout with SWAT officers. In addition to the 49 victims killed, 53 people were injured.

In California, next-door neighbour Glauber Franchi said he was unaware that Noor Salman was living with her mother until she was arrested Monday.

“It’s a very private family, very quiet family,” Franchi said. “You don’t see them. You barely see them on the street. They’re good people from my knowledge. Never had a problem.”

Al Salman said that Noor Salman was physically and mentally abused by Mateen and that she stayed with him for fear of losing custody of their son.

Charles Swift, director of the Richardson, Texas-based constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America, planned to represent Noor Salman at the Wednesday hearing, said public defender John Paul Reichmuth, who served as her attorney Tuesday.

Linda Moreno, a Florida attorney who also represents Salman, said after her arrest that the widow “had no foreknowledge nor could she predict what Omar Mateen intended to do that tragic night.”

Salman told The New York Times in an interview published in November that she knew her husband had watched jihadist videos but that she was “unaware of everything” regarding his intent to shoot up the club. Salman also said he had physically abused her.

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Tucker reported from Washington. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the indictment was unsealed Tuesday, not Monday.

Eric Tucker And Paul Elias, The Associated Press