Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a rally at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)The father of the Orlando nightclub shooter attended a Florida rally for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Monday.
NBC affiliate WPTV spotted Seddique Mateen at the Kissimmee, Florida rally. Matteen's son, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Television coverage shows Mateen standing behind Clinton during her speech.
Mateen said he supported Clinton over Republican nominee Donald Trump, who he said "has no solutions."
Mateen, once was a fringe candidate for president of Afghanistan, told the channel he wished his son had joined the U.S. Army and fought against Islamic militants in the Middle East instead of apparently sympathizing with them and their calls for violence.
Mateen said no one should be surprised he attended the Clinton rally.
"I love the United States, and I've been living here a long time," he said.
The Washington Post reported Mateeen made a $250 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2015 and he likely was on party's mailing lists.
Clinton's campaign moved quickly to distance itself from the shooter's father.
"The rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public," the campaign said. "This individual wasn't invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event."
The campaign said Clinton "disagrees" with the Mateen's views and disavows his support.