The father of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was spotted sitting behind Hillary Clinton at a Monday campaign rally in Kissimmee, Fla.
Clinton, visiting the central Florida city to talk about jobs, was actually paying tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre when an employee of NBC affiliate WPTV noticed that one of the rallygoers seated prominently behind the Democratic presidential nominee was Seddique Mateen, the mass shooter’s father.
After the rally, WPTV caught up with Mateen, who showed off a sign he made for the event and said, “Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions.”
Asked how he felt during Clinton’s comments about his son’s victims, Mateen simply stated, “We’ve been cooperating with the federal government, and that’s about it.”
A Clinton campaign official provided Yahoo News with the same statement given to WPTV in response to a request for comment on Mateen’s visible presence at the rally.
“The rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public,” the official said. “This individual wasn’t invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event.”
Mateen offered no further indication that either his attendance or his prominent placement at the rally had been coordinated with the Clinton campaign, telling WPTV, “It’s a Democratic party, so everyone can join.”Clinton aide: Shooter father "wasn't invited as a guest" campaign "unaware of his attendance until after the event” https://t.co/80tDhlscM9— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 9, 2016
As for why he chose to attend the event, less than 30 miles from where his son carried out the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, Mateen said, “[I] wish that my son had joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better.” He also scoffed at the suggestion that others might be surprised to see him there.
“Why should they be surprised?” he asked. “I love the United States, and I’ve been living here a long time.”
Orlando shooter's father was snapping pictures of @HillaryClinton with his phone during tribute to Orlando victims pic.twitter.com/aOiTbLDens— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 9, 2016
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