Jury selection for trial of widow of Orlando shooter beginsIn particular, Mateen went to Pulse only after having scouted other venues that night that were wholly unrelated to the LGBT community, only to find that they were too defended by armed guards and police, and ultimately chose Pulse only after a generic Google search for “Orlando nightclubs” – not “gay clubs” – produced Pulse as the first search result.
Several journalists closely covering the Mateen investigation have, for some time now, noted the complete absence of any evidence suggesting that Mateen knew that Pulse was a gay club or that targeting LGBTs was part of his motive. These doubts have been strongly fortified by the new facts, previously under seal, that were revealed by today’s court filing.
Beyond changing how the public understands the motives for this attack, this new perspective is likely to play a major role in the criminal trial of Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, that is now underway in an Orlando federal courtroom, with jury selection expected to last another ten days. Salman is accused of having aided her husband’s June 12, 2016, attack on the Orlando LGBT nightclub. She is also accused of obstructing justice by lying to the FBI.
Orlando shooting motive, gets a new twist..HIV revenge?