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FBI arrests wife of Orlando nightclub shooter

<p>Authorities have arrested the wife of the gunman who killed <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/survivors-and-victims-of-the-orlando-attack-are-honored-worldwide/" target="_blank">49 people</a> and wounded dozens more at an <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/orlando-plans-to-turn-pulse-nightclub-into-a-memorial/" target="_blank">Orlando nightclub</a> last year.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/us/politics/noor-salman-arrested-orlando-shooting-omar-mateen.html" target="_blank">several</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/16/us/omar-mateen-wife-arrested/" target="_blank">reports</a>, FBI agents took Noor Salman into custody in the San Francisco area Monday morning. Her husband was killed during <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/police-say-mass-shooting-at-an-orlando-nightclub-was-terrorism/" target="_blank">last year's massacre</a> in a shootout with police.</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/orlandopolicedepartment/photos/a.58930600877.72153.58169000877/10154303483075878/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Orlando's police chief said</a> she has been charged with aiding and abetting by providing material support to a terrorist organization and obstruction of justice.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/families-of-3-orlando-shooting-victims-sue-tech-giants/">Families Of 3 Orlando Shooting Victims Are Suing These Tech Giants</a></b></p><p>Early in the investigation, law enforcement said they were considering pursuing criminal charges against her if they could prove she knew about the attack and did nothing to stop it.</p><p>As of early Monday afternoon, other details were still unknown. But Attorney General Loretta Lynch did confirm the arrest was made.</p><p><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/tamron-hall/watch/loretta-lynch-i-have-confidence-in-fbi-855864387802" target="_blank">Lynch told MSNBC</a>, "This is a matter that we continue to take very seriously. It was always our goal. We said from the beginning we were going to look at every aspect of this case, of every aspect of this shooter's life."</p><p>The gunman's wife is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/human-rights-watch-labels-trump-a-threat/">Rights Group Says The Trump Administration Poses A Human Rights Threat</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/assange-agrees-to-extradition-if-obama-pardons-manning/">Julian Assange Will Agree To US Extradition — On One Condition</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/lady-liberty-to-be-portrayed-as-black-woman-on-new-coin/">Lady Liberty Will Be Portrayed As A Black Woman On A Coin</a></li></ul>
<p>Authorities have arrested the wife of the gunman who killed <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/survivors-and-victims-of-the-orlando-attack-are-honored-worldwide/" target="_blank">49 people</a> and wounded dozens more at an <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/orlando-plans-to-turn-pulse-nightclub-into-a-memorial/" target="_blank">Orlando nightclub</a> last year.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/us/politics/noor-salman-arrested-orlando-shooting-omar-mateen.html" target="_blank">several</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/16/us/omar-mateen-wife-arrested/" target="_blank">reports</a>, FBI agents took Noor Salman into custody in the San Francisco area Monday morning. Her husband was killed during <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/police-say-mass-shooting-at-an-orlando-nightclub-was-terrorism/" target="_blank">last year's massacre</a> in a shootout with police.</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/orlandopolicedepartment/photos/a.58930600877.72153.58169000877/10154303483075878/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Orlando's police chief said</a> she has been charged with aiding and abetting by providing material support to a terrorist organization and obstruction of justice.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/families-of-3-orlando-shooting-victims-sue-tech-giants/">Families Of 3 Orlando Shooting Victims Are Suing These Tech Giants</a></b></p><p>Early in the investigation, law enforcement said they were considering pursuing criminal charges against her if they could prove she knew about the attack and did nothing to stop it.</p><p>As of early Monday afternoon, other details were still unknown. But Attorney General Loretta Lynch did confirm the arrest was made.</p><p><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/tamron-hall/watch/loretta-lynch-i-have-confidence-in-fbi-855864387802" target="_blank">Lynch told MSNBC</a>, "This is a matter that we continue to take very seriously. It was always our goal. We said from the beginning we were going to look at every aspect of this case, of every aspect of this shooter's life."</p><p>The gunman's wife is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/human-rights-watch-labels-trump-a-threat/">Rights Group Says The Trump Administration Poses A Human Rights Threat</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/assange-agrees-to-extradition-if-obama-pardons-manning/">Julian Assange Will Agree To US Extradition — On One Condition</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/lady-liberty-to-be-portrayed-as-black-woman-on-new-coin/">Lady Liberty Will Be Portrayed As A Black Woman On A Coin</a></li></ul>
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The FBI has arrested Noor Salman, the wife of Omar Mateen, the man responsible for killing 49 people at an Orlando nightclub in June 2016, law enforcement officials confirmed on Monday.

She was charged on counts of aiding and abetting by providing material support to a terrorist organization and obstructing justice. 

Salman was questioned by law enforcement for hours following the massacre. According to the New York Times, investigators did not believe Salman was telling the truth about her involvement in the mass shooting. 

Salman was arrested at her home in San Francisco and will face a federal judge on Tuesday. 

In an article in the New York Times released Nov. 1, 2016, Salman claimed she had no prior knowledge of Mateen's intentions. She said that her husband told her he was going to visit a friend the night of the shooting.

“I was unaware of everything,” she told the paper. “I don’t condone what he has done. I am very sorry for what has happened. He has hurt a lot of people.”

Orlando Police Chief John Mina was pleased to see federal authorities press charges. 

"We are grateful that they have seen to it that some measure of justice will be served in this act of terror that has affected our community so deeply," Mina said. 

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