Widow of Orlando nightclub gunman acquitted in the attack

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — The widow of the gunman who slaughtered 49 people at a gay Orlando nightclub was acquitted Friday of helping to plot the attack and lying to the FBI afterward — a rare and stinging defeat for the U.S. government in a terrorism case.

Noor Salman, 31, sobbed upon hearing the jury’s verdict of not guilty of obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization, charges that could have brought a life sentence. Her family gasped each time the words “not guilty” were pronounced.

On the other side of the courtroom, the families of the victims of the June 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting sat stone-faced and silent.

Within hours of the verdict, Salman was released from jail and got into a waiting car without answering questions.

“Noor is so grateful. Her belief in the process was shown. She wants to get back to her son,” defence attorney Linda Moreno said. Family spokesperson Susan Clary said Salman’s family “always thought that Noor was the first victim” of her husband, Omar Mateen.

Relying heavily on an alleged confession from Salman, federal prosecutors charged that she and Mateen had scouted out potential targets together — including Disney World’s shopping and entertainment complex — and that she knew he was buying AR-15 rifle ammunition for a jihadi attack.

The government contended also that she knew Mateen had a sick fascination with violent jihadi videos and Islamic State websites, and that she gave him a “green light to commit terrorism.”

But the defence portrayed her as an easily manipulated woman with a low IQ and argued that she signed a false confession because she was tired after extensive questioning and feared losing her young son.

In a blow to prosecutors’ case, the FBI itself found that receipts and cellphone signals showed the couple were nowhere near the Pulse on the day Salman said they were.

Also, prosecutors introduced no online posts, texts or any other evidence Salman supported ISIL, and were hard-pressed to counter the defence’s portrayal of her as a simple, sweet mother who loves her 5year-old son, romance novels and the cartoon character Hello Kitty.

After the verdict, prosecutors said they were disappointed and took no questions.

Christine Leinonen, an attorney and former state trooper whose only son was killed in the nightclub massacre, told The Orlando Sentinel that she was disappointed but not shocked by the verdict. She said Salman’s alleged confession was “clearly coerced” and added: “Cops screw up their own cases.”