Mrs Clinton opened her speech in Kissimmee, Florida, on Tuesday by paying tribute to those affected by the Pulse Nightclub terror shooting – while the father who raised the mass shooter sat in the background.
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Mateen’s son opened fire on Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 12 in what would become the deadliest mass shooting in US history and was killed by police.
The shooter’s father, Mr Seddique Mateen, was spotted by a local television affiliate at the rally in Kissimmee, Florida, about 32km south of Orlando. Mateen said he was invited by the Democratic Party and declared himself a proud Clinton supporter.
Mateen and Clinton Donald Trump reacted to the story in an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity Some readers reacted with questions to the story in Yahoo News.
Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill later issued a statement saying, “Hillary Clinton disagrees with his views and disavows his support”.
“The rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn’t invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event”, he said. He has been going around carrying a sign about Hillary Clinton.
Omar Mateen was killed in a stand-off with the police.
Mateen would likely have been screened as he entered the event, although to appear on the stage with Clinton he would likely require additional screening by the Secret Service or be hand selected by a staffer.
Clinton disavowed Seddique Mateen’s support in the aftermath of her rally.
The crowd egged the rhetoric on, loudly chanting “lock her up” among boos, cries of “liar” and unprintable expletives directed at the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. But Mateen’s views on gays and Islamic religion’s teaching about homosexuality have also been a source of controversy.
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Seddique Mateen has reportedly cooperated with authorities investigating the June 12 shooting and has also expressed regret for his son’s actions. What attracts a terrorist, which is what he is, this guy was on radio saying awful anti- American things, supports the Taliban, this is a guy who said God should punish homosexuals.
