Orlando judge rules widow of Pulse gunman stays in jail

An Orlando judge agreed Thursday to keep the widow of the Orlando nightclub shooter in jail until she is tried on charges that she helped her husband scout out potential targets.

The ruling comes a day after a federal magistrate judge in California ordered that Noor Salman be released pending trial, saying it’s “debatable” whether the government has enough evidence to convict her.

The judge ordered she could be released on $500,000 bail and would wear an electronic ankle monitor while living with her uncle in Northern California, near where she relocated after the June 12 attack that left 49 dead and at least 68 others injured.

Prosecutors filed a motion in federal court Thursday asking that her release be halted while the court considers their request.

They argued that Salman has yet to prove she isn’t a danger to the public, the motion said. Prosecutors also said she shouldn’t be released based on the nature of the alleged crimes, the evidence against her and her character, even describing her as a “cold person” in the filing. Prosecutors say in the aftermath of the attack, Salman was not worried about the victims or her husband but was concerned with “how she would gain access to her husband’s bank accounts.”

Her attorneys argued she isn’t a flight risk, but prosecutors say she moved across the U.S. after the shooting. They also said she owns a vacant apartment in Palestine and family members also own property there, the motion states.

U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron agreed with prosecutors and stayed her release late Thursday. Salman’s lawyers have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to appeal.

She has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Her husband, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during the mass shooting, the deadliest in recent U.S. history. Mateen was eventually killed by police.