ORLANDO, Fla. — Jurors in the trial of a woman accused of aiding her husband's terrorist attack against an Orlando nightclub will deliberate her fate for a third day.

Noor Salman is charged with obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization. She faces up to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Salman's husband was Omar Mateen, who shot and killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in June 2016. Police killed him after the attack.

Prosecutors say Salman knew about Mateen's plans and did nothing to stop them. Her lawyers say she had no knowledge of them and was mentally and physically abused by him. They say she wasn't an Islamic extremist.</s>ORLANDO, Fla. — Jurors in the trial of a woman accused of aiding her husband's terrorist attack against an Orlando nightclub will deliberate her fate for a third day.

Noor Salman is charged with obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization. She faces up to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Salman's husband was Omar Mateen, who shot and killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in June 2016. Police killed him after the attack.

Prosecutors say Salman knew about Mateen's plans and did nothing to stop them. Her lawyers say she had no knowledge of them and was mentally and physically abused by him. They say she wasn't an Islamic extremist.</s>ORLANDO, Fla. — Jurors in the trial of a woman accused of aiding her husband’s terrorist attack against an Orlando nightclub will deliberate her fate for a third day.

Noor Salman is charged with obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization. She faces up to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Salman’s husband was Omar Mateen, who shot and killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in June 2016. Police killed him after the attack.

Prosecutors say Salman knew about Mateen’s plans and did nothing to stop them. Her lawyers say she had no knowledge of them and was mentally and physically abused by him. They say she wasn’t an Islamic extremist.</s>ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - A U.S. jury weighing the fate of a woman whose husband killed 49 people at a Florida nightclub in 2016 began deliberations on Wednesday after her defense attorney said federal agents coerced her into saying she played a role in the rampage.

Noor Salman, 31, could face life in prison if convicted of helping her husband Omar Mateen plan the attack on the Pulse nightclub and then failing to do anything to stop one of the worst mass shootings in modern U.S. history.

The jury in U.S. District Court broke for the night after starting deliberations on Wednesday afternoon. It will resume work at 9 a.m. EDT on Thursday, a court aide told reporters.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, defense lawyer Charles Swift said that FBI agents had planted Salman’s statements during initial questioning that she had helped Mateen case targets.

“That’s his words,” Swift said, referring to one of the first interrogators who transcribed what Salman said. “Those are not her words.”

Swift said FBI agents questioned Salman for more than 11 hours and her statement was filled with phrases Salman would never have used, such as “green light” and “long gun.”

He also said Salman could not have known that her husband would attack the Pulse, a gay nightspot.

“Even Omar didn’t know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub,” Swift said. “If he doesn’t know, she can’t know.”

In her closing statement, prosecutor Sara Sweeney contended that Salman had helped her husband check out potential sites and later sought to mislead investigators about what she knew.

Sweeney said Salman first told investigators that Mateen had acted without her knowledge but later admitted knowing he had left home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online.

The prosecutor also said Salman had aided Mateen by making up a cover story to his mother on the night of the shooting that he was going to dinner with a friend.

Salman faces charges of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group. Mateen had claimed allegiance to a leader of the group. Police killed him in an exchange of gunfire at the nightclub.

On Monday, Judge Paul Byron rejected a defense motion to dismiss the charges against Salman or declare a mistrial because the prosecution had failed to disclose Mateen’s father had been an FBI informant before the attack.</s>(CNN) Noor Salman was far from an innocent bystander ahead of her husband Omar Mateen's mass shooting in 2016 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, prosecutors said Wednesday in closing arguments of her federal trial.

"This case is about what she knew and what she did," Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney said. "The defendant didn't pull the trigger that night, but she did serve as a green light for her husband."

Defense attorneys countered that Salman was a simple-minded victim and argued the prosecution had shifted its story several times in closing "because they haven't proven their case."

Salman's fate is now in the hands of the jury, which began deliberations in the afternoon.

Salman, 31, is charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading law enforcement agents in their investigation of the massacre.</s>ORLANDO, Fla., March 29 (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of the woman whose husband killed dozens at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in 2016 resume deliberations on Thursday to decide whether she helped him plan the rampage and then misled authorities.

Noor Salman, 31, the widow of gunman Omar Mateen, could face up to life in prison if convicted of federal charges that she did nothing to stop her husband from killing 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.

Before the case went to the jury on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, defense lawyers said FBI interrogators had planted Salman's statements made during questioning that she helped him scout targets.

She also could not have known he would attack Pulse, a gay nightspot, on June 12, 2016, they said.

But prosecutors argued that she had helped her husband check out potential sites and sought to mislead investigators about what she knew.

They said Salman first told investigators that Mateen had acted without her knowledge but later admitted knowing he had left home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online.

Salman faces charges of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group. Mateen, who had claimed allegiance to a leader of the group, died in an exchange of gunfire with police at the nightclub. (Reporting by Joey Roulette Writing by Ian Simpson Editing by James Dalgleish)</s>Jurors in the trial of a woman accused of aiding her husband's terrorist attack against an Orlando nightclub will deliberate her fate for a third day.

Noor Salman is charged with obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization. She faces up to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Salman's husband was Omar Mateen, who shot and killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub in June 2016. Police killed him after the attack.

Prosecutors say Salman knew about Mateen's plans and did nothing to stop them. Her lawyers say she had no knowledge of them and was mentally and physically abused by him. They say she wasn't an Islamic extremist.</s>ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of the woman whose husband killed dozens at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in 2016 ended their second day of deliberations on Thursday with no decision about whether she helped him plan the rampage and then misled authorities.

Noor Salman, 31, the widow of gunman Omar Mateen, could face up to life in prison if convicted of federal charges that she did nothing to stop her husband from killing 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.

Salman, the only person charged in connection with the attack, is accused of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group. Mateen, who had claimed allegiance to an Islamic State leader, died in an exchange of gunfire with police at the nightclub.

Jurors will resume deliberations on Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Orlando. Since getting the case on Wednesday, they have weighed the evidence for nearly 11 hours.

On Thursday, they asked the trial judge to provide an example of an act of aiding and abetting. U.S. District Judge Paul Byron declined.

In response to another question, Byron said in order for Salman’s actions to be considered “willful,” it had to be proven that she provided support for and participated in something she wished would succeed.

Defense lawyers have accused FBI agents of adding words that they say Salman never used to her statements, made during questioning, that she helped Mateen scout targets.

Salman also could not have known he would attack Pulse, a gay nightspot, on June 12, 2016, the lawyers said. The government said during its closing argument that Mateen originally planned to target the Disney Springs entertainment and shopping complex when he left home that night.

“Even Omar didn’t know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub,” defense attorney Charles Swift said. “If he doesn’t know, she can’t know.”

Salman’s family was hopeful the jurors’ questions suggested they were carefully weighing the evidence, her spokeswoman Susan Clary said.

“The jury has been asking questions, that shows that they want to know more about the law,” she told reporters outside the courthouse. “More questions is better than no questions.”

But prosecutors argued that Salman had helped her husband check out potential sites and sought to mislead investigators about what she knew.

They said she first told investigators that Mateen had acted without her knowledge but later admitted knowing he had left home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online.</s>A judge has ruled that the revelation that the Pulse nightclub shooter’s father was an FBI informant for 11 years before the attack has little bearing on the trial of the gunman’s widow.

U.S. District Judge Paul Byron on Monday rejected a defence motion for a mistrial of Noor Salman, who is accused of helping her husband plan his June 2016 mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando, where he killed 49 people.

Lawyers for Salman said that because prosecutors didn’t disclose that Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, was an FBI informant until halfway through the trial, her Fifth Amendment right to due process and Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial were denied.

“This trial is not about Seddique Mateen. It’s about Noor Salman,” the judge said.

Salman, now 31 and the mother of a small child, is being tried in federal court in Orlando. Her defence is scheduled to wrap up this week and lawyers will give closing arguments.

In court on Monday, an FBI agent testified that they considered trying to develop Omar Mateen as an informant, like his father, after investigating him in 2013 and finding he didn’t have ties to terrorism.

Salman’s lawyers say the government’s belated disclosure about Mateen’s father and his ties to the FBI has prevented them from exploring the possibilities that Seddique Mateen was more directly involved, and that Salman may have been framed to hide the government’s mistakes.

The government’s “violations in this case have placed Ms. Salman, the jury, and this Court in a dark wood where the search for truth has been thwarted,” they wrote, paraphrasing and citing 15th Century Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy.

Her lawyers’ motion said U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney sent them an email Saturday revealing some details of the FBI’s involvement with Seddique Mateen’s activities leading up to the Pulse attack.

“I have just received authorization to disclose the following information about Seddique Mateen,” her email said. “Seddique Mateen was a FBI confidential human source at various points in time between January 2005 and June 2016.”
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This email was sent after jurors heard Shahla Mateen, Omar’s mother, deny during cross-examination that her husband had any relationship with the FBI.

The email also revealed other details the prosecution didn’t tell jurors, including the discovery in the hours after the shooting that “receipts for money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan” made in the days and weeks before the shooting were found at Seddique Mateen’s home, and that in 2012, an anonymous tipster had accused Seddique Mateen of “seeking to raise $50,000 – $100,000 via a donation drive to contribute towards an attack against the government of Pakistan.”

Defence attorneys said had they known about this information in advance of her trial, they would have investigated “whether Mateen’s father was involved in or had foreknowledge of the Pulse attack,” they wrote.

Prosecutors told the jury that Salman knew Omar Mateen was buying rounds of ammunition for his AR-15, helped him spend thousands of dollars before the attack and knew about his plan when he left their home in the hours before the shooting. They also say she lied in an attempt to mislead FBI agents and had knowledge of her husband’s sick fascination with violent jihadist videos and terrorism.

Defence attorneys describe Salman as a simple woman with a low IQ, who was abused by her husband. This latest evidence, they said, points instead to Mateen’s father as a potential accomplice.

A man who answered a Florida phone number for Seddique Mateen hung up after asking an AP reporter to identify himself.</s>ORLANDO, Fla. - The fate of Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, is now in the hands of a jury.

The 12-member jury, which consists of seven women and five men, received instructions, and deliberations began shortly before 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Judge Paul Byron allowed the jurors to deliberate until 5 p.m., but since no verdict was reached, deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Salman is accused of helping her husband plan a mass shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in June 2016. Forty-nine people were killed and more than 50 injured in the attack.

Salman, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding the support of a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and obstruction of justice.

If Salman is found not guilty of aiding and abetting, jurors have the option to select attempted aiding and abetting.

During deliberations, jurors asked to examine a statement Salman made to FBI agents in the hours after her husband carried out the attack. The judge printed out copies of it to be given to the panel. The statement suggests Salman knew of an attack and did nothing to stop it.

Read: Salman's attorneys ask judge to dismiss charges

 

 Before Salman's trial, her attorneys had sought to prevent the statement from being presented as evidence. They have argued at trial that it was coerced.

 

 The jurors also asked a question about an index of evidence and the wording on one of the charges Salman faces.

During their closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors revealed new information that Mateen wanted to target Disney Springs, and that Salman knew.

Prosecutors said Mateen had a baby stroller and a doll inside his van. They said Mateen planned to hide an AR-15 rifle inside the stroller when he got to Disney Springs, but got spooked by police and chose Pulse as his target instead.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney told the jury that Salman "knowingly engaged in misleading conduct" when she spoke with the FBI in the hours after the attack, the Associated Press said.

But the defense called the planned attack on Disney Springs a "new theory."

"It was all about scouting the Pulse (nightclub) and casing the Pulse (nightclub)," she said. "And then, all of a sudden, for the first time, in the closing arguments, no, that's not their emphasis anymore. Now, it's Disney."

“This will be really telling what the evidence really was since I wasn't able to come to every day of the trial,” said Christine Leinonen, whose son died in the 2016 attack. "Now, I will be able to see exactly what each side thinks they did prove."

She said she believes that Salman knew of Mateen's plans.

"I believe that she full well knew that the jihad was imminent, and she helped him," Leinonen said.



 Defense attorneys for Salman told the jury that she had no idea what her husband had planned that night in June 2016.

 

 They said that she couldn't have known about the attack because Mateen didn't even know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub.

Prosecutors said Salman knew Mateen was buying ammunition and that she helped him spend money before the attack and knew about his plan when he left home the night he killed 49 people.

Defense attorneys describe Salman as a simple woman with a low IQ who was abused by her husband, and who didn't know of his plans because he concealed much of his life from her.
The trial of Noor Salman, widow of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, hears closing arguments. Jurors begin deliberations. During the trial it was revealed that Mateen's father was an FBI informant.