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Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen’s father is an Afghan immigrant who hosted an anti-American TV show and once called the Taliban “our warrior brothers.”
Seddique Mateen appears in scores of online videos, including one he posted to Facebook right around the time of his son’s rampage. In it, he wears combat fatigues and salutes the camera.
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, Seddique 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.