Omar Mateen's tert gay men mak this no ordary act of terrorism | David Shariatmadari | The Guardian

Contents:

• MAN WHO SAYS HE WAS OMAR MATEEN'S GAY LOVER SPEAKS OUT
• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?
• OMAR MATEEN WAS GAY, A REGULAR AT PULSE; ORLANDO SHOOTER’S WIFE UNR VTIGATN
• ORLANDO GUNMAN HAD ED GAY DATG APP AND VISED LGBT NIGHTCLUB ON OTHER OCSNS, WNS SAY
• “GAY” OMAR MATEEN AND THE CULT OF WHE HATE
• OMAR MATEEN’S FAL TEXT TO WIFE RELEASED: “I’M GAY, THAT’S WHY I’M DOG THIS.”
• OMAR MATEEN'S TERT GAY MEN MAK THIS NO ORDARY ACT OF TERRORISM

MAN WHO SAYS HE WAS OMAR MATEEN'S GAY LOVER SPEAKS OUT

ORLANDO -- A man who says he was Orlando shooter Omar Mateen's gay lover is speakg out followg the attack on Pulse nightclub that left 49 people ad, and dozens more an terview wh Univisn anchor Maria Elena Salas, the man -- who was lled "Miguel" to protect his inty -- said he first met Mateen on the gay datg app Grdr. Miguel said an terview wh Univisn that Mateen, who was killed by police durg the rampage on the Pulse nightclub early on June 12, was gay. "Miguel said that Mateen's wife knew he was gay, and that his father forced him to an arranged add that he and Mateen also talked about relign.

ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?

Addnally, other media outlets have heard several stori of Mateen poppg up and nversg wh men on gay datg Van Horn, 71, said Mateen was a "regular" at the popular Pulse Horn, a retired pharmacist, said he met Mateen once, and the younger man talked about his ex-wife. "This to me suggts somebody that may have had sexual inty issu and may have actually been stgglg wh the ia that he himself was gay and that would add a different motive and a different perspective on the se, " O'Toole said. Var media outlets have reported that ers on the gay-datg app Jack’d say they have exchanged msag wh Mateen, but the CEO of Jack’d says they have not yet found any proof that Mateen had an acunt.

A former classmate at Indian River Communy College told the Palm Beach Post that Mateen went to gay bars wh classmat and once tried to pick him up.

OMAR MATEEN WAS GAY, A REGULAR AT PULSE; ORLANDO SHOOTER’S WIFE UNR VTIGATN

The elr Mateen repeatedly rebuffed qutns about homosexualy an terview, cludg multiple queri about whether his son might have been motivated by homophobia and whether uld have been gay. “He might have been homosexual himself and lived that liftyle but uld never ever e clean about bee of the standards of his father, bee of the obligatn to be a perfect son, ” she add. Media ptn, The BBC's Gordon Corera exam what we know about the attackerOmar Mateen was a US cizen who had been known to the FBI sce opened fire si a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida the early hours of Sunday, killg 49 people the adlit shootg morn US officials say the 29-year-old, who was killed by police, appeared to "have leangs towards" radil Islamist iology, although was not clear whether the attack was a se of domtic or ternatnal ma emergency 911 lls shortly beforehand which he reportedly stated his allegiance to Islamic State.

"But there are also reports Mateen ed gay datg apps and was a regular at the club where he rried out the Smh told the Orlando Sentel he had seen Mateen at least 12 tim at the Pulse, sayg he would sometim drk heavily, beg "loud and belligerent" source, RtersImage ptn, Friends and fay members embrace outsi the Orlando police headquartersAs qutns emerged about the gunman's history, FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper told reporters that Mateen had been terviewed by FBI officers twice 2013 followg flammatory ments to lleagu assertg ti to vtigatn end after officers were unable to substantiate the claims. In Orlando, people grappled wh the magnu of the horror: One man armed wh an asslt rifle and a pistol managed to kill 49 people and wound another 53 si a gay nightclub.

ORLANDO GUNMAN HAD ED GAY DATG APP AND VISED LGBT NIGHTCLUB ON OTHER OCSNS, WNS SAY

In particular, Mateen went to Pulse only after havg suted other venu that night that were wholly unrelated to the LGBT muny, only to fd that they were too fend by armed guards and police, and ultimately chose Pulse only after a generic Google search for “Orlando nightclubs” — not “gay clubs” — produced Pulse as the first search rult. Several journalists closely verg the Mateen vtigatn have, for some time now, noted the plete absence of any evince suggtg that Mateen knew that Pulse was a gay club or that targetg the LGBT muny was part of his motive. This highly dub “anti-gay” storyle has also created a virtually unanimo climate Orlando’s muny that is mandg the punishment of anyone remotely nnected to Mateen, a climate prosecutors have seized on to brg highly unual, and very qutnable, felony charg agast Mateen’s wife that uld send her to prison for s spe snt evince of her guilt.

But this afternoon, Salman’s lawyers filed a motn to preclu the admissibily of certa evince and, dog so, provid a meangful glimpse to many of the facts that are clearly at odds wh the long-standg, prevailg view that Mateen’s motive, at least part, was to attack a gay club and murr LGBT people.

“GAY” OMAR MATEEN AND THE CULT OF WHE HATE

That clus search on Mateen’s phon durg the week of the attack, which he was attemptg to choose his target by searchg generilly for soft targets the form of popular tourist lotns or simply “nightclubs, Orlando” — not “gay nightclubs” or “LGBT clubs. The motn filed by Salman’s lawyers mak clear that the days leadg up to the Pulse attack, and ed on the day of the attack self, Mateen sped out and nsired numero venu — such as Disney properti and shoppg malls — none of which had any nnectn to the LGBT muny or gay life. Moreover, once Mateen cid to attack nightclub, his phone rerds reveal that he searched for “Orlando nightclubs” — not “LGBT clubs” or “gay bars.

But even before this evince began to e to light, there was already abundant nvcg evince suggtg that anti-gay anim was not a signifint part of Mateen’s motive  choosg Pulse and perhaps played no role at all.

Even as he massacred 49 people si a gay club, surround by gay people, there were no reports om survivors that he had uttered a sgle anti-gay ephet or homophobic remark, or any way referenced LGBT people. None of his statements explag his motiv and e for the attack make any reference to targetg the gay muny or any judgments about homosexualy. Given Mateen’s mment multiple venu to aggrsively exprsg his motiv and , is difficult to unrstand why — the midst of an attack on a gay club — he would be utterly silent about his views on homosexualy and LGBT people, even as he oped on a wi array of other polil issu to jtify his attack.

OMAR MATEEN’S FAL TEXT TO WIFE RELEASED: “I’M GAY, THAT’S WHY I’M DOG THIS.”

It is, at least, equally difficult to unrstand why Mateen’s systematic murr of dozens of gay people was never acpanied by any sual anti-gay slur or homophobic sentiment of any kd. Law enforcement officials, ” reported that “the FBI has found no evince so far that Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and wound more than 53 at the Pulse nightclub Orlando, chose the popular tablishment bee of s gay clientele. ” The Post add, quotg a law enforcement official, that “while there n be no nyg the signifint impact on the gay muny, the vtigatn hasn’t revealed that he targeted Pulse bee was a gay club.

And yet the popular belief persists — often fdg s way to official pronouncements, LGBT group materials, and media discsns — that the Pulse shootg reprented a liberate, ncerted attack — a “hate crime” — on the LGBT muny due to homophobia. Likely due to his Mlim beliefs, he harbored self-hatred and disgt for his own sexual orientatn that fally explod wh vlence toward other gay people. His first wife, whom he had abed, speculated that he may be gay, tellg Time: “He would take a long time ont of the mirror, he would often take pictur of himself, and he ma ltle movements wh his body that fely ma me qutn thgs.

That closeted gay men velop self-hatred which often fds exprsn severe animosy and even vlence toward gay people is well-tablished the social scienc. That he was Mlim add to the seemg plsibily: It has bee an creasgly mon tactic among some Wtern anti-Islam mentators to sist that Mlim culture and gay rights are patible — all that spe pollg data showg that Amerin Mlims are more acceptg of gay people and gay civil rights than several other large relig groups. ISIS, whose name Mateen voked on several ocsns durg the shootg, add fuel to the fire that Mateen’s motive was to kill gay people when they issued a statement claimg rponsibily and notg that “the victims were all ‘a nightclub for homosexuals.

OMAR MATEEN'S TERT GAY MEN MAK THIS NO ORDARY ACT OF TERRORISM

While there is extensive evince of Mateen’s womanizg — cludg his e of a iend to hi his fili om his wife — there is no evince regard by the FBI as credible that Mateen was gay.

Ined, Mateen had never vised any of the gay bars near his home, as Time reported mid-June: “Nobody relled ever seeg him at TattleTails, a gay bar jt a few om his apartment.