Noor Salman, wife of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, was ordered to stand trial in Orlando in March 2018.
The wife of Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub last year in the name of ISIS, will stand trial in the Florida city, a judge ordered Wednesday.
Noor Salman’s attorneys had filed a motion in September to have her trial moved to another city, claiming that media coverage of her husband’s attack and remarks from Orlando Police Chief John Mina wouldn’t allow her to have a fair trial, according to WESH.
Salman’s husband, Mateen, killed 49 people and wounded almost 70 others when he opened fire at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016 in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
The gay bar on the night of the shooting was packed with more than 300 people. Mateen called 911 when he was pulling off the attack to pledge his allegiance to ISIS, and was shouting “Allahu akbar” while engaging officers, law enforcement sources told Fox News around the time of the attack.
Salman knew about her husband’s plan before the shooting and how he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, prosecutors said. She shopped with her husband the night before the attack when he bought five containers of ammunition, a source close to the investigation told Fox News.
Prosecutors have said Salman knew about her husband’s plan to attack Pulse nightclub before the mass shooting occurred. (AP Photo)
The motion filed for Salman, according to the Sentinel, cited remarks made by the police chief, one of which said: “I am glad to see that Omar Mateen’s wife has been charged with aiding her husband in the commission of the brutal attack on the Pulse nightclub.”
The statement stems from comments Mina made when Salman was arrested in January. He said her arrest provides “some relief in knowing that someone will be held accountable for that horrific crime.”
The judge’s order quoted a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which said, “prominence of media coverage does not necessarily produce prejudicing and juror impartiality does not require ignorance,” WESH reported.
Salman’s trial is scheduled for March 1.
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