On Tuesday evening’s episode of The Kelly File, host Megyn Kelly dug into a new Univision interview with a man claiming to be the Orlando gunman’s ex-lover. This information, if true, piles onto indications that Omar Mateen was unhinged and homophobic while motivated by hate. We also heard that Mateen may have been a regular at Pulse nightclub and even used a gay dating app, and recent reports have indicated that he visited the club on the night of the attack. He may have been casing the premises, but security cameras indicate that he was present, disappeared for a few hours, and then returned for the mass shooting that killed 49 victims.
Now, the alleged male ex-lover of Mateen (who was married twice to women) has come forward to speak with Univision. The man remains unidentified, referring to himself only as “Miguel,” and he donned a disguise. Miguel believes that Mateen held a grudge on the night of the massacre because he “felt used” by Latino men, and a lover turned up HIV positive:
“He adored Latinos, gay Latinos, with brown skin — but he felt rejected … The truth is that he didn’t do it for terrorism. In my opinion he did it for revenge … He was terrified that he was infected. I asked him, ‘Did you do a test?’ Yes. He went to the pharmacy and did the test … it came out negative but it doesn’t come out right away. It takes four, five months.” Asked why he decided to come forward with his story, he said: “It’s my responsibility as a citizen of the United States and a gay man.”
There’s no way of telling whether Miguel is speaking the truth (or at least his version of it) with his insistence of knowing Mateen well. Miguel does claim that he spoke to the FBI three times (after the massacre) about his involvement with Mateen, who he says was a “friend with benefits.” He also believes Mateen was “a confused, gay man who drank heavily.” Well, this confusion may have also extended to Mateen’s professed ISIS allegiance, but the entire case remains muddled.
On The Kelly Files, the host pressed an expert on whether Mateen may have suppressed his homosexuality as a result of radicalization, and the answer was both affirmative and revealing. This video arrives courtesy of Mediaite.