Judge nixes bid to end trial of Pulse gunman’s widow

The widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman failed Monday to convince a federal judge in Florida to drop the charges against her following the revelation that her father-in-law, Seddique Mateen, worked as an FBI informant for 11 years. Noor Salman’s defense attorneys argued the case against her should be thrown out or declared a mistrial since they didn’t know about Mateen’s work with the FBI until Saturday. “It is apparent from the government’s belated disclosure that Ms. Salman has been defending a case without a complete set of facts and evidence that the government was required to disclose,” attorney Fritz Scheller wrote in his request for a mistrial, according to the Orlando Sentinel. But U.S. District Judge Paul Byron ruled Mateen’s work as an informant does not affect whether Salman could have aided and abetted her husband. Omar Mateen opened fire inside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, killing 49 people—the worst mass shooting in U.S. history at the time. Prosecutors claim Salman knew about her husband’s plan and didn’t report him to authorities. Closing arguments in the trial are expected Wednesday.