In a statement to the press, the Clinton campaign said: “The rally was a 3000-person, open-door event for the public”. Many people interpreted that to mean Trump was advocating someone shoot Clinton or her judicial court appointees.
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Mateen told news outlets after the rally that he loves “the United States”.
When the Clinton campaign rally was over, Mateen was asked, “What were you thinking about when she was talking about the Orlando incident?”
Security at public campaign rallies includes metal detectors, but attendees are typically not required to undergo background checks or receive additional scrutiny unless they will be sitting within feet of the candidate.
Mateen is known for his controversial views on Afghan politics and homosexuality.
Crowley said he believed it was probably junior staff members or volunteers who seated Mateen right behind Clinton.
Clinton as usual was silent with the media and declined to respond to any questions asked at an event Tuesday morning in Miami.
He repeatedly deflected WPTV reporter Tory Dunnan’s questions about whether he thought it was appropriate for him to attend the rally, so close to the site where his son committed the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
Following the event, Mateen – who condemned his son’s actions, but said gay people should be “punished by God” – was quizzed about his reasons for attending.
In an ironic twist, Clinton began her remarks by expressing sympathy for the survivors and families of the victims of the Pulse shooting, and praising the first responders who helped victims. Specifically, the group says, Trump will support repealing a 1954 tax law that prohibits tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or advocating the defeat of political candidates.
He said: “We’ve been cooperating with the federal government, and that’s about it. Thank you”.
“Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump”, Seddique Mateen later told a news station in broken English as he held a pro-Hillary sign and revealed that he had been “invited by the Democratic Party”.
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“I was invited by [the] Democratic party”, Mateen told the reporter. “Me, myself, you can’t blame a parent for what a child has done”.
