Orlando Nightclub Shooter’s Father at Clinton Rally
Event was open to the public and he was not invited, Clinton campaign says
Hillary Clinton’s Monday rally in Kissimmee, Florida, might be overshadowed by one of the people who attended: the father of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen.
Seddique Mateen can be seen standing in the crowd behind Clinton wearing a red baseball cap.
The Orlando NBC affiliate, WPTV, was able to get an interview with Mateen where he offered his support for Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions,” he said
Mateen was asked why he came to a rally that was so close to the place where his son killed 49 people.
“I spoke a lot about that and wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better,” Mateen said.
He was asked if said people should not be surprised that he went to the event.
“Why should they be surprised? I love the United States, and I’ve been living here a long time,” Mateen said.
The Clinton campaign told WPTV anchor Tory Dunnan that Mateen was not an invited guest for the event.
Clinton campaign statement part I: “This rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn’t invited as a guest
— Tory Dunnan (@ToryDunnanTV) August 9, 2016
Part II: and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event.
— Tory Dunnan (@ToryDunnanTV) August 9, 2016
Mateen’s son shot and killed 49 people at the gay nightclub, Pulse, in June.
