Orlando Shooter’s Father Ran for Afghan Presidency, Supported the Taliban

After it was discovered that Omar Mateen was responsible for the Orlando nightclub shooting, his father came to his defense, saying that Omar was a good son. He didn’t seem angry or upset the day before the shooting, and despite pledging loyalty to ISIS during a 911 call, he wasn’t a radical. “No radicalism, no. He doesn’t have a beard even. . . . I don’t think religion or Islam had anything to do with this.”

But it turns out that this apple didn’t fall far from the crazy tree. His father, Seddique Mateen runs a rather strange Youtube channel, which is filled with incoherent, rambling videos. In one video he declares that he’s running for the presidency of Afghanistan, and in others he has expressed support for the Taliban. A few hours before the shooting, he posted a video wherein he seemingly pretended to be the president of Afghanistan, and ordered the arrest of a several Afghan officials.

One Afghan official who spoke anonymously stated that “People would make jokes of this guy, especially after videos surfaced of him claiming to be the president in exile. He looked very serious, but no one could tell what he was talking about.” Seddique has also founded the Provisional Government of Afghanistan Corporation, which appears to play into his fantasy of being the president of Afghanistan.

Overall, his videos seem to paint the portrait of a delusional man, who is desperately trying to present himself as an important political figure in Afghanistan. He’s even tried to cozy up with the Washington establishment, and has posted pictures of himself meeting with the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as representatives Charlie Rangel, Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce.