OAKLAND, Calif. _ The widow of the gunman who attacked a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June, leaving 49 patrons dead, knew about the attack before it was going to happen and failed to do anything to stop it, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.
Noor Zahi Salman barely spoke at her first appearance in court in Oakland to face charges of aiding terrorism and lying to investigators following an indictment by a grand jury in central Florida. Her arraignment was delayed another day so that one of her attorneys could arrive to represent her.
Salman, who was arrested Monday morning, appeared disheveled, wearing a wrinkled, mustard-colored, short-sleeved shirt along with baggy gray trousers. She appeared to be shaking a little at the start of the hearing, and she occasionally turned around to gaze at the courtroom.
In the hallway outside the courtroom, her uncle, Al Salman, defended her, saying she was an "innocent person" and that she had no advance knowledge of the shooting.
Al Salman also said that her husband, Omar Mateen, was an abuser who hit her and threw her against a wall, but that she was afraid to leave the relationship because she feared she would lose her young son.
"She doesn't know what was going on. She is a very simple person," he told reporters. "If she (knew) what that crazy guy would do, she wouldn't be here. She would take her son and run away from him."
Al Salman added: "She would not harm anybody. She doesn't like to see anybody get hurt. She is going to show she is innocent."
Noor Salman was arrested at her mother's home in the East Bay suburb of Rodeo, and her son is now being taken care of by her mother. Al Salman said that FBI agents arrived while Noor Salman was still asleep, and that multiple young children who were in the home were "scared to death."
The indictment filed in central Florida charges that, as early as April, Noor Salman knowingly aided Mateen's attempt to provide "material support or resources" to Islamic State in the Middle East. The indictment did not give more details.
A second count accuses her of obstructing justice by lying to FBI investigators and the Police Department in Fort Pierce, Fla.
One of her attorneys, Linda Moreno, said in a statement that Noor Salman didn't have advance knowledge of the attack, adding, "We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonors the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person."
Noor Salman has previously denied any advance knowledge of Mateen's attack on the Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, during which he pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Mateen was killed in a shootout with police after a long standoff.
The FBI had been examining whether she knew of her husband's plans, and she was questioned extensively after the shooting. Officials said she had accompanied Mateen at least once to the nightclub where he later carried out the massacre, and also drove with him to shop at a gun dealership.
A child of Palestinian immigrants, Salman was born and grew up in Northern California. She met Mateen on an online dating site and the two were married in Contra Costa County in 2011. They had each been married before, and they had a son together not long after the wedding.
Salman had previously told The New York Times in an interview that Mateen was volatile and had often beaten her. She said he had watched jihadist videos.
Salman said she was at home in bed during the attack and that Mateen had texted her during the ensuing standoff with police to ask her whether she had seen what happened. "I love you, babe," he added.
"I was unaware of everything," Salman told the newspaper. "I don't condone what he has done. I am very sorry for what has happened. He has hurt a lot of people."
