CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — The wife of the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, appeared an Oakland, California court on Tuesday (January 17), accused of misleading authorities investigating the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Noor Salman 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’s an innocent, simple person. She would not hurt a fly. Only she can talk my son, my son. I want to take him to school, I want to find best school for my son. She doesn’t know anything else,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
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.
