Democrats would not comment on the circumstances surrounding the appearance of Seddique Mateen, the father of mass shooter Omar Mateen, at a Hillary Clinton rally in Florida Monday.

Mateen stood cheering behind Clinton during her rally in Kissimmee, less than an hour's drive from Orlando, where his son murdered 49 people at a gay nightclub in June.

Lawmakers from the state did not respond to inquiries about whether they knew Mateen would be at the rally or whether they believed Mateen should have been there.

A spokeswoman for the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the mayor had nothing to do with the event.

"Mayor Dyer was not a part of this rally or involved in it in any way," she said.

Representative Alan Grayson, who represents the congressional district in which Kissimmee is located and is seeking the Democratic nomination for Senate, declined to comment. Representative Patrick Murphy, Grayson's primary opponent, and the Florida Democratic party did not respond to a request for comment.

Clinton campaign officials said Tuesday that Mateen had not been "invited as a guest" and that the campaign "was unaware of his attendance until after the event." The former secretary of state ignored a question about Mateen's attendance later Tuesday, turning away from a reporter who asked whether her campaign should have known he was present.

Clinton opened the 3,000-person Kissimmee rally by remembering the victims of the shooting.

"I know how many people, families, loved ones, and friends are still grieving, and we will be with you as you rebuild your lives," she said, while Mateen filmed her on his phone and put on a bright red baseball cap.

After the event, a local Florida news station caught up with Mateen and asked why he attended a rally in such close proximity to the location of the shooting.

"I spoke a lot about that and wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better," he said.

Mateen said that Clinton would be "good for United States" and held up a large yellow banner that touted Clinton's achievements, including "gun control laws."

He saw no qualms with his attendance at the rally.

"Why they should be surprised? I love United States, and I've been living here for long time," Mateen said. "It's a Democratic party, so everybody can join."