The father of Omar Mateen, the shooter who killed 49 people and injured 53 others in the June attack on the Pulse nightclub, said he was invited to attend the Hillary Clinton rally in Kissimmee on Monday.

  • Seddique Mateen said he was invited to attend Clinton's speech
  • He says that he agrees with Clinton's positions on gun control
  • Son killed 49 people at gay nightclub in terror/hate attack
  • Hillary Clinton campaign said Mateen wasn't invited as a guest

The man with a mustache, wearing a red hat, and sitting behind Democratic presidential nominee as she gave a speech to supporters Monday is Seddique Mateen, the father of the shooter who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group when he attacked the gay nightclub.

Clinton even spoke about the Pulse attack during her speech. In the crowd, people were wearing the Orlando United T-shirts.

TV station WPTV in West Palm Beach caught up with Mateen after the rally and asked him why he went. Mateen said he's a member of the Democratic Party and was invited to attend the rally Monday evening in Kissimmee.

"I'm a member, so as a member, I get invitations," Mateen said. "So, it's nothing particular about it. ... It's very important for (the) United States of America, especially the election. I was invited by Democratic Party."

Mateen says he agrees with Clinton's positions, especially on gun control.

Mahen Gunaratna, a Hillary Clinton campaign official, released the following statement Tuesday morning: "The rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn't invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event."

Campaigns and politicians typically hand-select who sits behind the speakers at speeches and other events to control who appears on TV.