Father of Pulse nightclub shooter attends Clinton rally outside of Orlando
As Hillary Clinton addressed a rally just south of Orlando, in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday night, she gave her condolences to the friends and family members of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. "I know how many people, family members, loved ones, and friends are still grieving," she said.
In the audience watching just over her shoulder was Seddique Mateen, the father of the nightclub shooter.
"Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions," Mateen told the NewsChannel 5 reporters who noticed him. When the reporters asked if Mateen thought people might be surprised to see him at the rally, he said, "Why should they be surprised? I love the United States, and I've been living here a long time." Mateen is also reported to have gone on "anti-U.S. tirades" on his YouTube TV show, and been an outspoken supporter of the Afghan Taliban.
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Mateen has long condemned his son's actions, and told the reporters on Monday, "I spoke a lot about that and wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better."
It isn't clear if the Clinton campaign knew Mateen was in the audience. "It's a Democratic party, so anyone can join," Mateen said.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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