Noor Salman’s trial begins
On opening day, 10 potential jurors questioned in case against Pulse gunman’s widow
When Noor Salman walked into a federal courtroom Thursday for the first day of jury selection in her trial, it was the first time some survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre had seen her.
“I just felt I had to come. I had to make my presence known for the survivors, for the families,” said India Godman, a survivor who wore a Pulse shirt in court. “We all embraced one another. We’re all here to support one another.”
The case against Salman, 31, hinges on whether she knowingly helped her husband, Omar Mateen, plan the attack at Pulse, where he killed 49 people and wounded dozens more June 12, 2016.
Salman, who has rarely been glimpsed publicly and was held under an alias at the Sumter County Jail while awaiting trial, appeared to be in good spirits Thursday, talking and laughing with marshals during breaks. She often smiled when listening to her attorney, Linda Moreno.
U.S. District Judge Paul Byron questioned 10 potential jurors Thursday about their thoughts on guns, their knowledge of the case,
their media consumption habits and whether they felt community pressure to convict Salman. Jurors were also asked if they could still be impartial given any feelings they may have about the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks or the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Among those retained in the jury pool was a man who sells forensic cyber-security software and said he believed religion had little to do with a violent attacker’s motive.
“I don’t look at it as a Muslim thing,” the man said.
Another woman still in the jury pool told Byron she had some trouble understanding English and preferred that people speak slowly. Byron said her English comprehension seemed good enough that she could understand court proceedings.
“She’s competent enough to do the job,” Byron said.
Byron said he expects to question 14 more jurors today. He excused four of the 10 questioned Thursday — a new mother, a man who works on commission, a woman who said she had medical issues and a woman who expressed strong opinions against guns.
“I don’t like shooting. I don’t like guns. I don’t see why people even go there,” the sixth juror of the day said when asked about evidence of Salman at a gun range years ago. “Why would she want to do that from the beginning? What is the purpose of learning to shoot?”
Salman is charged with aiding and abetting Mateen in supporting a foreign terror organization, the Islamic State, and obstructing justice. Her husband was killed by police hours after he began shooting in the Orlando club. To prove their case against Salman, federal prosecutors will first have to prove that Mateen provided material support to the Islamic State by carrying out the massacre at Pulse.
That means the jurors chosen to try the case will see some evidence from inside the club, including video.
About 15 survivors, victims’ family members and supporters were in the courtroom Thursday. The club’s owner, Barbara Poma, was there as well. They are not allowed to wear anything that sends a message about the case, U.S. marshals said.
Godman was asked to turn her Pulse shirt inside out.
“I wanted to be loud and proud like, ‘Yes, I’m here,’ ” Godman said as she left the courtroom. She was also wearing a button to remember the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting on the Las Vegas strip, where she has gone to help survivors.
Godman said she wanted to see “at least some type of justice,” she said. She said she believes Salman knew what her husband was planning.
“She says she has PTSD,” Godman said. “What kind of PTSD does she have? Guilt? That she knew what was going on that night?”
A spokeswoman for Salman’s family, Susan Clary, said they plan to attend the trial. Salman believes she will be vindicated during the trial and will be leaving with her family after the verdict, Clary said.
Ahmed Bedier, the president of United Voices for America, a nonprofit civic organization, said he has been in contact with Salman’s family and her behavior reflects the personality they have described — that of a childlike, carefree, trusting woman.
“That’s just her demeanor — very friendly, very kind,” Bedier said. “I saw the same thing, somebody who was just good spirited.”
Bedier said he is watching to be sure Salman gets a fair trial. He said he questions why Salman is being tried and wants to know what changed between when FBI agents interviewed Salman the day of the shooting and when they arrested her seven months after the attack.
Mateen isolated Salman and abused her, Bedier said. Salman’s attorneys have said they plan to cite domestic abuse as part of her defense.
“Now that he’s dead he continues to victimize her,” Bedier said.
The judge said testimony in the trial could begin in about 10 days, though he stressed that was only an estimate.
To protect jurors’ privacy, the ones selected will meet U.S. Marshals at what Byron called “an undisclosed location” every day and be driven to a separate courthouse entrance, away from the public.
About 5 a.m., Bob Kunst, of Miami Beach, parked across the federal courthouse in Orlando, armed with a lawn chair, a jug of water and a white cardboard sign: “‘FRY’ HER TILL SHE HAS NO ‘PULSE.’ ”
“I’m here to take a stand against the insanity of not just this madness here, what we experienced in Parkland, what we’re experiencing everywhere,” Kunst said.
Salman faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Moreno brought up the protester’s presence, asking Byron to question jurors about what they saw outside the courthouse and how it affected their perceptions of the case.
The trial resumes 9 a.m. today.