Hillary Clinton’s campaign is disavowing support from Seddique Mateen, the father of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen, after Mr. Mateen showed up at a Clinton rally in Florida earlier this week.
Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman, told news outlets Tuesday that Mrs. Clinton disagrees with Seddique Mateen’s views and disavows his support.
Mr. Mateen had attended a Clinton rally earlier this week in Kissimmee, even getting into shots so he was visible behind Mrs. Clinton. He later told a local television station he was supporting Mrs. Clinton for president.
Mr. Mateen is the father of Omar Mateen, who opened fire at a gay Orlando nightclub in June, killing 50 people. He’s a fringe political commentator who has posted videos about politics in the Middle East.
Before the disavowal, the Clinton campaign had told ABC News: “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.”
