The father of the terrorist gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is a Taliban sympathizer who also announced a candidacy for the Afghan presidency in 2015, a year after its elections were held.
Seddique Mateen, whose son Omar Mateen carried out the deadliest mass shooting in American history early Sunday morning, called the Taliban "our warrior brothers" in one YouTube video. In a series of videos showing him hosting the Duran Jirga Show, Mateen makes "pro-Taliban" remarks and "anti-US tirades," according to an Afghan official.
The elder Mateen speaks the Dari language in his often-rambling videos, and it wasn’t immediately clear what he says in that clip, posted on Facebook around 2 a.m. Sunday, just when Omar was opening fire on innocent victims at the Pulse nightclub.
An automated translation of remarks posted over the video says: ‘To the people revolution in Afghanistan, migration is in danger 2016-11-6."
In a video posted last year on YouTube, Mateen declared his candidacy for the Afghan presidency — despite the fact that the election took place a year earlier, according to the Washington Post.
Dozens of YouTube videos show him hosting the "Durand Jirga Show" on a TV channel broadcast from California. The name of the show refers to the "Durand Line," the long-disputed border that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The show is known for "its anti-US tirades" and "pro-Taliban" remarks, a former Afghan official told the Associated Press.
In one video, Mateen denounces the Pakistani government and speaks favorably about the Taliban, the Washington Post said.
"Our brothers in Waziristan, our warrior brothers in [the] Taliban movement and national Afghan Taliban are rising up," he says.
In another video that posted hours before his son's rampage, Mateen pretended to be President of Afghanistan and ordered the arrest of several Afghan political figures, according to Heavy.com.