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Pulse Gunman's Dad Was FBI Informant, Now Under Investigation

Memorial outside of Pulse. WMFE file photo.
Memorial outside of Pulse. WMFE file photo.

Very little is known about an investigation of the Pulse gunman’s father. He was an FBI informant for more than a decade and now he’s under investigation by the same agency.

Seddique Mateen’s cooperation with, and now investigation by, the FBI was revealed in court filings during the trial of Noor Salman, the Pulse gunman’s widow who is charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Mateen served as a confidential informant between 2005 and 2016. But a search of the father's residence June 12, 2016, the day of the Pulse shooting, revealed receipts for money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan. The FBI opened an investigation into the money transfers. According to the documents, Mateen wasn’t informed of the investigation.

His attorney declined to comment. The FBI said in an e-mail it cannot comment on any aspect of an ongoing trial.

The motion was filed Sunday with a request by the defense to dismiss the trial. The judge said the defense was not harmed because the gunman’s father was never called as a witness.

Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.