ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando judge ordered the wife of the Pulse nightclub shooter to remain in jail Thursday until she is tried on charges that she helped her husband scout out potential targets.
Federal prosecutors filed a motion Thursday to revoke Salman’s release, citing some of her actions prior to the massacre and her behavior after.
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Their motion came a day after a judge in California had ordered Noor Salman to be released as early as Friday, saying it's "debatable" whether the government has enough evidence to convict her. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu also said that Salman, 31, is not dangerous and there is no proof that she has ties to the Islamic State group or holds extremist views.
“On the night of the attack, the defendant formulated a false cover story for Mateen that he was out to dinner with a friend known to Mateen’s family,” prosecutors wrote in the motion.
After the attack, the prosecution said that in interviews with authorities Salman repeatedly asked for her husband death certificate, which she would need to access his bank account.
Prosecutors also cited Salman’s knowledge of her husband's excessive spending in the two weeks leading up to the attack. Mateen spent more than his yearly income in 11 days, including buying a diamond ring for Salman valued at more than $7,000.
“(Salman) took these items—such as the diamond ring—from Mateen to support their child after Mateen’s attack given her lack of employment and little savings,” according to court documents.
The criminal charges were filed in Orlando but the detention hearing was held in Oakland, California, because Salman was living in the Bay Area at the time she was taken into custody.
"In terms of Noor being released ... we don't know," said Linda Moreno, one of her attorneys.
Salman has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice. She faces life in prison if she is convicted.
Salman's husband, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during the attack at the Pulse gay nightclub on June 12. As the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history it left 49 people dead and more than 50 people injured. Mateen was killed by police.
Prosecutors called Salman a "cold person" in the motion, writing that “her primary concern was not the victims of the shooting, or even her deceased husband, but rather how she would gain access to her husband’s bank accounts.”
In their motion, prosecutors said there is a presumption in the law for Salman to be held in jail since the crime involves terrorism, and that prosecutors need not show anything more than an indictment to back up their request.
"Here, the defendant proffered evidence of her husband's alleged abuse, the affidavits of friends and family, and her lack of overall danger in support of an argument that she does not constitute a flight risk or danger to the community," the prosecutors said. "Such proffered evidence falls far short of justifying a finding in favor of release, particularly in light of the nature of the charged offense."
Moreno said the motion seems a rehash of what was argued in the California courtroom.
"The court found that the evidence they claim supports these allegations was debatable," Moreno said. "It's far more than debatable. It's groundless."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.