Widow of gunman in Fla. attack is acquitted

The verdict is a major blow to federal and local law enforcement, which had hailed Salman's arrest last January as a step toward justice and accountability for the massacre. One of her uncles, seated in court behind her, stifled a sob as relatives held one another. On the other hand, "Pulse victims and their families sat in stone-faced silence", and left the courtroom without making a statement to the media.

"The more we learned", he said, "the better Noor Salman looked".

"It's Good Friday for everybody", said Al Salman, an uncle.

" I rely on our criminal justice system as well as am grateful for the court's effort and also consideration", Orlando Police Chief John Mina stated in a declaration launched after the judgment, additionally giving thanks to district attorneys and also police.

" We are really sorry for the member of the family as well as good friends of the 49 targets of the Pulse bar capturing and the survivors of that terrible assault", a family members speaker informed press reporters outside the court. "Our community is strong". Family spokeswoman Susan Clary said Salman's family "always thought that Noor was the first victim" of her husband, Omar Mateen. Police killed Mateen after the attack.

Salman's attorneys said they would not discuss when their client would be released. VIDEO: Pulse nightclub shooter's widow found not guilty on all countsProsecutors has argued that Salman knew about her husband's guns and his obsession for Muslim extremist videos. The prosecution then went another route saying she may not have pulled the trigger but, she was used, "as a green light for her husband". Prosecutors, for example, argued Salman was added as a death beneficiary to her husband's bank account just two weeks before the attack and that, in the period that followed, she and Mateen ran up credit card charges and cash withdrawals totalling more than $30,000 (U.S.) - what Mateen made in a year.

"It's a disgusting, random, senseless killing by a monster", Mr Swift said during closing arguments.

Salman did not testify during the trial.

"On this Good Friday, the family wants to say we're very sorry for the family members and friends of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and also the survivors of that terrible attack", a representative from Salman's family said. "I wish I'd go back and tell his family and the police what he was going to do".

"And after looking at the evidence, it's still not totally clear, but I think the only way for us to move on and heal is to not focus so much on this, and focus on memorializing and keeping the legacy alive of people that died that night", she said.

David Weinstein, a defense attorney from Miami who was not involved in the case, said the lack of a recorded confession from Salman probably influenced the jury, which was shown only a written statement. Salman allegedly wrote to an FBI investigator that she was sorry.

Salman was married to Omar Mateen when he attacked the Pulse nightclub. According to Buzzfeed News, Noor Salman was acquitted of assisting in one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history.

They thanked the judge and jury, and the defense attorneys who worked pro bono for Salman.

"This case is about what she knew and what she did", Sweeney said at trial.

"Nothing harmful would come out of her", a friend of Salman's who was identified only as Ms. Ahmed told jurors.

But the defence portrayed her as an easily manipulated woman with a low IQ and argued that she signed a false confession because she was exhausted after a long interrogation and feared losing her young son.

In the early morning hours after the attack, she was questioned by federal authorities and her story changed multiple times, prosecutors said.