Orlando Gunman's Dad Spotted at Clinton Rally

He says Trump 'has no solutions'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 9, 2016 11:47 AM CDT
Orlando Gunman's Dad Spotted at Clinton Rally
Hillary Clinton arrives for a rally in Kissimmee, Fla., on Monday.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The mustachioed man in a red ball cap standing behind Hillary Clinton at a rally Monday night in Florida might have seemed ordinary, but his appearance is getting quite a lot of attention. That's because the man, Seddique Mateen, is the father of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, reports CNN. The elder Mateen, who once praised the Afghan Taliban on his own TV show, tells WPTV he attended the rally in Kissimmee as a member of the Democratic Party and feels "Hillary Clinton is good for the United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions."

Conservatives are calling on Trump to draw attention to Mateen, the Washington Post reports, though the Clinton campaign says it was "unaware" he was at the "open-door event," where Clinton spoke about the shooting. "We can't ever let that kind of hatred and violence break the spirit, break the soul of any place in America," she said. "I know how many people … are still grieving, and we will be with you as you rebuild your lives." Mateen says his family is continuing to cooperate with investigators. "I love the United States," he adds. "[I] wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better." (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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