Hadi Matar convicted on federal terrorism charges for stabbing Salman Rushdie

Hadi Matar convicted on federal terrorism charges for stabbing Salman Rushdie

A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, has found Hadi Matar guilty on all counts in a terrorism trial involving the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. The jury reached the verdict on Wednesday, after deliberating for two hours.

Matar, 28, was convicted of engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists, and attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah. The U.S. Government designates the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group as a terrorist organization.

The charges stem from an August 12, 2022, attack at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York. Rushdie was on an amphitheater stage for a conference on free expression and writers' safety when Matar climbed behind him and slashed him 15 times with a six-inch blade. The assault left the author gravely wounded, causing damage to internal organs and a permanent loss of sight in his right eye. Another man was also wounded during the incident.

Civilians and another speaker, Henry Reese, rushed to aid Rushdie and restrained Matar until law enforcement officers arrested him.

Prosecutors argued the attack was the result of months of planning and preparation, framing the killing as part of a jihad, or holy war. Evidence presented in court showed Matar used messaging apps in 2021 and 2022 to discuss the fatwa—a religious edict—issued in 1989 by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. That decree called for the death of Rushdie over his 1988 novel, "The Satanic Verses," which some believers viewed as blasphemous toward the Prophet Muhammad.

Court exhibits revealed Matar expressed anger that Rushdie had attacked Islam and believed the author's survival emboldened others to insult the faith. Matar also alluded to comments made in 2006 by the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch stated that a private note written by Matar said, We need to kill him ASAP. By spring 2022, Matar was tracking Rushdie's public appearances and had identified where the author lived.

The prosecution further noted that the 1989 fatwa was reaffirmed in 2017 by Khomeini's successor, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An Iranian foundation has offered a bounty of more than $3 million for Rushdie's death. While the Iranian government denied involvement in the stabbing and distanced itself from the fatwa in 1998, prosecutors asserted Matar aligned himself with those terroristic values.

Rushdie, 79, testified during the trial. He noted that while he could not speak to Matar's specific aims, the wounds were dispersed across his body. Regarding the fatwa, Rushdie told jurors, I had no knowledge of that. I have my suspicions. He described a period of two decades where he lived a public life without trouble after spending the first decade of the fatwa in hiding under British police protection.

Matar, a U.S.-born citizen who also holds Lebanese citizenship, declined to testify. His defense lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, argued during the trial that the government lacked proof of Matar's internal thoughts. Barone has since indicated that an appeal will be filed.

The verdict follows a previous legal process in New York state court, where Matar was found guilty of attempted murder in February 2025 and sentenced three months later to 25 years in prison. He is currently serving that sentence.

Following the federal verdict, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg stated that the attack is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism and that justice has been done. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo added that Matar spent months preparing for what he hoped would be the execution of the author.

Rushdie, who won the Booker Prize for his 1981 novel "Midnight's Children," has continued his literary work despite the assault. He published a memoir about the attack and his recovery in April 2024 and released a work of fiction last year titled "The Eleventh Hour." In November, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Matar faces a potential life term for these federal convictions. His sentencing is scheduled for November 3.