On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen attacked The Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and wounding 53. After Mateen was shot and killed by Law Enforcement, the FBI interrogated Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, for over 12 hours, ultimately securing a purported confession that she had accompanied him during scouting trips and was aware of his plan to attack The Pulse.
January 2017, seven months after the attack, Noor Salman was indicted for Aiding and Abetting Mateen’s alleged Material Support of Terrorism, and Obstruction of Justice.
Verdict/Ruling: Not guilty on all charges. In 2018, after spending more than a year in pre-trial detention awaiting trial, Salman went to trial with MLFA defending her.
MLFA’s attorney’s methodically proved that the contents of Salman’s alleged confession were false, and the confession was a product of coercion utilized by the FBI on a defenseless mother.
First time a family member had ever been charged in a mass shooting. Only one of two material support acquittals out of more than 250 Material Support cases. The New York Times referred to the Salman case/decision as a “landmark case in the War on Terror.”
