Noor Salman, widow of Pulse shooter, goes to trial: What did she know?

The criminal trial of Omar Mateen's widow begins Thursday in Orlando, nearly two years after he killed 49 people and injured dozens more at Pulse nightclub in the same city.

Mateen was shot dead by police during the rampage, leaving his wife, Noor Salman, as the only person to face criminal charges in connection with the attack.

Salman, 31, was hours away inside the couple's Fort Pierce apartment during the shooting. She was charged with aiding and abetting Mateen’s provision and attempted provision of material support for terrorism, as well as obstruction of justice.

Material support for terrorism in this case centers on repeated pledges of allegiance to the Islamic State that Mateen made before and during the shooting.

The militant group, also called ISIS, declared a traditional form of Islamic rule known as a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria and has drawn jihadi fighters from across the world. They claimed the attack, which was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

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The case will be tried in the Orlando courtroom of Middle District of Florida Judge Paul G. Byron in the George C. Young U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building. Jury selection could take a week and the trial is expected to take about three weeks.

If convicted on both counts, Salman could face life in prison. She would also be forced to forfeit $30,500 in cash and jewelry purchased by Mateen in the days before the attack.

Salman was indicted on the charges Jan. 12 by a grand jury sitting in Orlando. She was arrested days later in San Francisco and extradited in April.

The California magistrate initially assigned to the case permitted Salman's release on $500,000 bail, but Byron quickly stepped in to revoke the decision.

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"The existence of the defendant's past involvement in a terrorist attack, even recognizing she did not pull the trigger, poses too great of a danger to the community to warrant pretrial release," Byron wrote in a March order.

An appellate court upheld the decision in May, describing Salman as a flight risk and danger to the community. She has been detained ever since, though it is unclear where.

Who is she?

Salman, born and raised in California to parents of Palestinian descent, was Mateen's second wife. Her attorneys said although she was raised in a Muslim home, she did not grow up with religious convictions.

Friends and family described her as peaceful, sweet and simple. She was enrolled in special education classes as a child, according to her attorneys.

When Salman and Mateen married after meeting on an online dating site in 2011, they moved to Fort Pierce. They lived together in an apartment in the 2500 block of South 17th Street until the June 2016 attack.

When Mateen was working as a security guard at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in 2013, he was investigated by the FBI after he told coworkers about connections to terrorists.

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Salman knew about this, but was threatened when she attempted to question him, her attorneys said. She said she was abused mentally and physically by Mateen for years, beginning when she was pregnant with their only son.

"(Salman) lived in constant fear of him, afraid to either question or contradict his actions," her attorneys wrote.

Salman is being represented by a team of three attorneys — Charles Swift, director of the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America; Linda Moreno, who specializes in national security and terrorism defense cases; and Fritz Scheller, an Orlando criminal defense lawyer.

Accusations

The first charge is that Salman aided and abetted her husband's support of the Islamic State.

Prosecutors said Mateen watched a video calling for Islamic State "soldiers" to commit violent attacks during Ramadan, a month of fasting observed by Muslims of Islamic belief. This, combined with the terrorist group's claiming of his attack and usage in propaganda constitute provision, they argue.

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Aiding and abetting requires not only proof that Salman knew about her husband's planned crime, but that she intentionally associated with or contributed to the offense.

Prosecutors contend the following events in the weeks before the attack prove just that:

Casing: In the week before the attack, Salman accompanied Mateen on several trips characterized by the federal government as "casing activity." Locations included City Place in West Palm Beach, Disney Springs outside of Orlando and Pulse nightclub, the eventual choice. "What would make people more upset, an attack on downtown Disney or a club?" Mateen asked Salman, according to court records.

In the week before the attack, Salman accompanied Mateen on several trips characterized by the federal government as "casing activity." Locations included City Place in West Palm Beach, Disney Springs outside of Orlando and Pulse nightclub, the eventual choice. "What would make people more upset, an attack on downtown Disney or a club?" Mateen asked Salman, according to court records. Spending spree: Shortly before the attack, Mateen added his wife's name to his bank account as payable-on-death and spent about $25,000 in 10 days, which the government contends should have alerted Salman. "These expenditures are highly suspect," Byron wrote in the order denying Salman's release.

Shortly before the attack, Mateen added his wife's name to his bank account as payable-on-death and spent about $25,000 in 10 days, which the government contends should have alerted Salman. "These expenditures are highly suspect," Byron wrote in the order denying Salman's release. Weaponry purchase: Salman told the FBI she knew Mateen purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and was present when he bought ammunition at Walmart.

Salman told the FBI she knew Mateen purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and was present when he bought ammunition at Walmart. The night of the attack: Salman admitted to FBI agents Mateen had left their apartment the night of the attack carrying the AR-15 and a backpack filled with ammunition. He was "pumped up" and said, "This is the one day," according to her written statement.

Salman admitted to FBI agents Mateen had left their apartment the night of the attack carrying the AR-15 and a backpack filled with ammunition. He was "pumped up" and said, "This is the one day," according to her written statement. Cover story: The government accused Salman of crafting a cover-up for Mateen on the night of the attack. She texted him, "If ur mom calls say nimo invited you out an noor wants to stay home," according to court records. Nemo was a friend with whom Mateen frequently told his wife he was spending time when he was cheating on her, according to the FBI.

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The second charge, obstruction of justice, centers around Salman's actions and statements the night of the attack.

Prosecutors accused Salman of deleting text messages from her phone the night of the attack — including one informing Mateen of a cover story she had devised — and making the following false statements:

Telling Fort Pierce police officers Mateen would not have engaged in violence unless he was protecting himself;

Telling FBI agents Mateen had only one firearm, was not radical or extreme in his beliefs, did not use the internet at their home and had long ago deleted his Facebook account;

Telling FBI agents Mateen left their apartment the night of the attack to have dinner with a friend and she did not see a gun on him; and

Telling FBI agents she was unaware Mateen was planning to conduct a violent terrorist attack.

The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Sara C. Sweeney, James Mandolfo and Roger B. Handberg III for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kevin C. Nunnally for the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Evidence

Prosecutors disclosed more than 100,000 pages of discovery in the case. Many case records were sealed to protect the case and victims' and other individuals' privacy, but here's what we know will be included:

Photographs and videos taken inside Pulse during and after the attack;

Electronic copies of hard drives and cellphones seized from Salman and Mateen;

Audio of 911 and Orlando Police calls with Omar Mateen during the attack;

Police body camera videos from inside Pulse;

Salman's written statement to the FBI;

Records from more than 300 grand jury subpoenas;

Photographs of Mateen and Salman at a gun range;

Video of Mateen attending mosque June 8, 2016;

Details on Mateen's credit card transactions and bank activity;

Testimony from Mateen's brother-in-law, FBI special agents and Fort Pierce and Orlando police officers, among others;

Law enforcement reports and search warrants;

Video of interview with "Nemo," the friend who Mateen and Salman said he was with that night; and

Testimony from a forensic psychologist who interviewed Salman as she awaited trial.

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Defense

It's impossible to be certain of the defense's strategy, as attorneys cannot comment on federal cases and many of the case files remain under seal, but there are some clues.

"The center accepts cases they believe have constitutional issues or questions of law significant to the Muslim community," said Swift, Salman's attorney, about the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America

Aside from any constitutional questions, the defense's strategy appears to center on the reliability of Salman's written statement to the FBI and the effects of years of abuse by Mateen.

"The defendant challenges the reliability of these admissions, arguing that they occurred at the end of a long interview during which the defendant was not represented by counsel," one motion read.

A notice was filed of the defense's intent to offer evidence of her mental conditions as they relate to her susceptibility to suggestion at the time of the interrogation.

"Salman is more vulnerable to falsely confessing compared to others," wrote a psychologist who twice examined Salman last summer at Sumpter County Detention Center.

Salman's attorneys deny she crafted a cover story. Court records show she exchanged texts with Mateen during the shooting, asking "Where are you?" to which he responded, "Do you see what's happening?"

Salman replied, "No." Mateen's last words to her were, "I love you babe."

Her attorneys said this demonstrates she didn't know of his plans.

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It's not known whether Salman intends to testify. She has invoked her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination by remaining silent since her initial encounter with the FBI.