The Orlando Pulse Club Massacre and the exoneration of Noor Salman
Attorney
Charles Swift: “The more we learned, the better Noor Salman looked”
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen entered Pulse club in
Orlando and killed 49 people and injured 53 others. He was killed by the
police. Mateen was survived by a wife, Noor Salman, and a child. The US
government charged Noor with crimes arising from that massacre committed by her
late husband. After a jury trial in Orlando, she was found not guilty on all
charges. On social media though, Noor
Salman gets a lot of hate because most people are not familiar with the case
beyond the soundbites.
A lot of people have questions about the case. Below
are a number of questions about the case and my answers:
-Why did the government charge Noor when none of the
wives or girlfriends of other mass shooters got charged criminally? That is a
very good question. Some people think it is a result of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab
bias. Other people think it is because of the nature of the crime and the fact
that it is classified as terrorism. My take on it is that the fact that Noor
was vulnerable, emotionally and mentally, and that she talked to the government
without having a lawyer present played the decisive role in her being charged.
-What did the government charge her with, the
government must have had evidence that she committed crimes, otherwise how
could they charge her? It is easy to charge, hard to convict. The federal government
charges through grand juries. There is a saying that a grand jury would indict
a ham sandwich. This means that it is really easy to charge someone with a
crime. The grand jury hears from one side- the government’s side. Also, if the
grand jury refuses to charge, the government can impanel another grand jury to
get an indictment. However, to convict, the trial jury has to find the
defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. This standard is pro- defendant.
And despite the wrong perception that some people have about juries, juries do
a fine job most of the time. Noor faced
two charges- obstruction of justice and material support. Both are felonies and,
if convicted, she could have faced life in prison.
-What do we know about Omar Matten? Mateen is a very
curious and interesting case. Like many mass killers, he was an abusive
partner. He was also on the FBI’s radar. He had a connection to the FBI. They
interviewed him more than one time regarding statements he made that were supportive
of terrorist organizations. It seems he was also an informant. The FBI had his
phone number and texted him at least once to provide information about a Muslim
community member who had travelled to Syria. This came up in the Defendant’s
Response to the Government’s Order Revoking Defendant’s Release. It is
undisputed that Mateen’s father was a paid FBI informant. This makes this case
very unusual.
-What is the mistake Noor made? Talking to the FBI
without a lawyer. She talked to them for hours- 11 hours- seemingly without
asking for a lawyer. She was lulled into a sense of security. Just like many
people who think that their innocence protects them, she decided to talk to the
government without the benefit of legal counsel. The FBI claimed that she made
more than one statement that implicated her. They claimed that she not only
knew that Mateen was about to do but helped him as well and lied to obstruct
the investigation and provided him with an alibi.
-What are the lessons of the Noor Salman case? Many
lessons. One is, to remember the American saying that one of the three American
lies is “I am from the government and I am here to help you.” When you are on
the receiving end of an investigation, you should not trust the government. You
get a lawyer to protect your rights. Second, remember that the FBI agents are
police officers in civilian clothing. If they have reason, even if it is not a
strong one, to believe that you violated the law, they will be looking for any
evidence to confirm that suspicion. It is called confirmation bias and it would
be on you the suspect to diffuse these suspicions- a lawyer should do that for
you. I suggest that everyone in this country watch My Cousin Vinny to see how
encounters with law enforcement can unpredictably unfold and lead to a
confession of a crime that the confessor never committed. False confessions do
happen.
- Given the immensity of the crime and the desire to
have someone pay for the crime, it is surprising that she was found not guilty.
What explains it? Many factors. Noor’s
family stood by her. A number of her family members put their homes on the line
to secure bond. The Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America paid her
legal expenses. She had great lawyers. She had a good judge and a jury that was
willing to consider the law and the facts and reach the verdict that the law
and the facts require- regardless of political and popular sentiment.
-The government has a high conviction rate, especially
in terrorism cases. They have discretion- Why did they choose to bring such a
case that is largely circumstantial and is built on an iffy confession of a
vulnerable woman? The New York Times did
not exaggerate when it wrote that the case presented “the rarest of defeats: a
loss in a terrorism case.” Noor’s attorney’s answer to this question is:
“Mistakes were made by everybody, but nobody would admit to them. Mistakes were
made by the interrogators, and by the original people who looked at Mateen, and
the prosecution. At every level. Salman was a solution to all their mistakes.
But the jury didn’t buy it.” It is worth pondering attorney Charles Swift’s
statement.
Useful links:
The Statements to the FBI: https://media.clickorlando.com/document_dev/2018/01/05/EXHIBIT%2023%20-%20SALMANS%20VERBALL%20INTERVIEW%20-%20WRITTEN%20BY%20FBI%20AGENT%20-%20INITIALED%20BY%20HER_1515170363936_11448149_ver1.0.pdf
Defendant’s Response to the Government’s Motion for an
Order Revoking Defendant’s Release: https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/Salman%20Defendant%27s%20Response.pdf
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