Judge Orders Temporary Release of Wife of Orlando Pulse Nightclub Jihadi

A federal judge disagreed with prosecutors that Noor Salman, the 31-year-old widow of the Islamic State terrorist who killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando last year, poses a danger to the public and ordered her release from jail, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu is allowing Salman to live with her relatives until she appears in court on charges she aided Omar Mateen in staging his deadly attack on June 12, 2016 at a popular gay bar in the city.

Prosecutors argued Salman was a threat to the public, but the judge ruled because her family used their homes as collateral for her release so she did not pose a flight risk. The judge also said Salman does not hold the same radical views as her late husband.

Salman will be wearing an electronic monitoring device and can only leave her home for legal or medical appointments, according to the Times.

“Salman has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting Mateen and lying to investigators after the shooting,” the Times reported, adding that a trial date has not yet been set.

Federal Prosecutor Sara Sweeney said the couple ran up $25,000 in credit card debt and spent $5,000 in cash in the days before the shooting, including purchasing an $8,000 diamond ring for Salman.

Omar Mateen entered Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in June 2016 and opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. As the gay nightclub was hosting its weekly “Latin Night,” most of the victims were LGBT and Latin American — many members of the large Puerto Rican population in the area. Mateen called 911 and identified himself as a member of the Islamic State, reciting an oath of allegiance to caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Law enforcement officials arrested Salman in January after losing track of her whereabouts for weeks after the attack. While Salman initially claimed that her husband was not “very religious” and she had no idea he had any inclinations towards jihad, evidence later surfaced that Salman appeared to be aware that Mateen had begun scouting locations in which to commit a massacre, including Disney World. Disney had contacted law enforcement and warned that Mateen and his wife were acting suspiciously on the premises.