Noor Salman Found Not Guilty of Helping Omar Mateen Plan Pulse Nightclub Massacre

Salman
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Salman was acquitted of aiding and abetting a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice Friday in an Orlando, Fla., courtroom.

The wife of Florida nightclub shooter Omar Mateen has been found not guilty of helping her husband plan the massacre, as well as lying to federal investigators.

Noor Salman was acquitted of all charges, including aiding and abetting a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice Friday in an Orlando, Fla., courtroom. She had been accused of helping her husband plan the horrific event at the Pulse nightclub.

Mateen stormed the club with a semi-automatic rifle on June 12, 2016, killing 49 people. After an hours-long standoff, he was shot dead by police. At the time, it was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

In January, it was revealed that Salman gave the FBI a 12-page statement in which she said she knew her husband was planning "to do something bad,” according to authorities.

Salman said Mateen told her “this is my target” beforehand in reference to the LGBT club.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Salman, 31, knew about her husband's plans prior to the shooting and even helped him scout out the nightclub ahead of time.

She was arrested seven months after the massacre.

In the statement, authorities claim Salman said Mateen carried out the attack in the name of ISIS.

“My fears had come true and he did what he said he was going to do. I was in denial and I could not believe that the father of my child was going to hurt other people,” she allegedly wrote after finding out what her husband had done.

But Salman also claimed Mateen abused her. Her statement detailed how Mateen was obsessed with watching beheading videos and would do so in front of their children.

She also told authorities that a week before the shooting she and Mateen drove around the Pulse nightclub for 20 minutes, according to reports. 

Prosecutors said Salman also apologized in the statement for "not [being] truthful in the start about what Omar was planning."

Salman’s attorneys denied her involvement in the mass shooting. 

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