A United States court on Friday acquitted the widow of a gunman who had killed 49 people in a Florida nightclub in June 2016, Reuters reported. Noor Salman, 31, was accused of obstructing justice and helping her husband, Omar Mateen, provide support to the Islamic State group.
Salman could have faced as much as a life sentence if she had been convicted. She was acquitted of both charges after the jury deliberated for almost 12 hours.
Her lawyers had argued that she was an innocent victim of her husband’s lies, the BBC reported. It was initially believed that Salman knew about her husband’s plans.
On June 12, 2016, Mateen had opened fire at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. The Islamic State group had later taken responsibility for the shooting. Mateen was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. At the time of the incident, Salman was at home with their son, who was then three years old.
The incident was considered one of the deadliest mass shootings in the history of the United States.
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