Wife of Pulse shooter claims bias, seeks new trial venue outside of Orlando

Motion cites Orlando police chief statements, media coverage

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Pulse nightclub gunman's wife, Noor Salman, is requesting her trial be moved from Orlando, citing statements made by Orlando police Chief John Mina and media reports since the mass shooting.

Salman's defense attorneys filed a motion Friday asking the federal judge to move the trial to another district.

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"The continued and constant media coverage, along with Orlando Police Chief John Mina’s statements have infected this community sufficiently to prejudice a significant portion against Ms. Salman," the motion read.

The defense team is citing the prejudice rule and said local bias would prevent their client from having a fair trial. A defendant can request a change of venue if a "fair and impartial jury cannot be obtained in the district where the alleged crime was committed," according to the court documents.

 

A spokesperson for the Orlando Police Department released the following statement from Chief Mina Saturday:

"I am aware of the motion filed for a change of venue in the case against Noor Salman," Mina said. "I respect the constitutional rights granted by law and recognize that a fair trial is paramount to the American justice system. I am confident should the motion be granted or denied, due process will be afforded."

Salman is charged with obstruction and aiding her husband, Omar Mateen who is responsible for the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen opened fire on the gay nightclub June 12, 2016, killing 49 people and injuring more than 50 others.

Salman's defense say that Mina's statements about their client to the media calling her guilty "create the very real danger of community saturation, to the point where it is impossible to seat an impartial jury in Orlando."

The motion cited multiple interviews Mina gave to local news outlets and social media posts by the Orlando Police Department.

The defense team said that the information released by police and FBI reported by the media "was in many cases incomplete." According to the motion, text messages made the night of the shooting released through public records requests between Mateen and Salman do not show the whole exchange.

Transcripts from the night of the shooting between the gunman and his wife were included in the motion, which the defense said differs from what has been widely reported.

Salman: “Where are you?”

Mateen: “Everything ok?”

Salman “Your mom I’d [sic] worried and so am i”

Salman  “You know you work tomorrow right?”

Mateen  “You heard what happened”

Salman  “????”

Salman  “What happened?!”

Mateen  “I love you babe”

Salman  “Habibi what happened?!”

Salman  “Your mom said that she said to come over and you never did.”

This text conversation included in the motion happened between 4:27 a.m. and 4:31 a.m. Sunday, June 12, while Mateen was in three-hour standoff with Central Florida law enforcement.

Salman’s trial is scheduled to begin the week of June 5.

 


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