Jan. 18 (UPI) — The widow of the man who gunned down nearly 50 people at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando last year pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that she was complicit in the attack.
Noor Sahi Salman appeared in court Wednesday to respond to the charges against her — one for providing material support and the other for obstructing justice during the subsequent investigation.
After the counts were read, Salman’s attorney entered her not guilty plea. The 30-year-old woman did not speak at Wednesday’s hearing.
Salman, arrested Monday and held in an Alameda County, Calif., jail, appeared in court for the second time in as many days. On Tuesday, she appeared when an indictment with the charges was unsealed.
Her husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others on June 12 before he was shot to death by police. Prosecutors argue that Salman had prior knowledge of the plot and later lied to Florida and FBI investigators to throw them off track.
The indictment says Salman, starting in April 2016 or earlier, also provided multiple forms of support for the attack, which Mateen allegedly carried out as a surrogate of the Islamic State.
Salman’s lawyer, though, has countered that she was a naive victim of domestic abuse and knew nothing about her husband’s plans.
Officials are waiting to take Salman back to Florida to face the charges. That issue will be addressed at a detention hearing next month. If convicted, she could spend life in prison.
