A federal jury convicted a New Jersey man on terrorism charges Wednesday for stabbing author Salman Rushdie in 2022 in support of Hezbollah and an Iranian fatwa calling for the novelist's death.
Hadi Matar, 28, of Fairview, was found guilty of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists.
On August 12, 2022, Matar attacked Rushdie as the author prepared to speak at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, stabbing him multiple times. Henry Reese, who was about to interview Rushdie, was also wounded while attempting to restrain the attacker.
The 1989 fatwa issued by Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's assassination following the 1988 publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which was considered blasphemous for its fictional depiction of the Prophet Muhammad and other Islamic figures and phrases. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah endorsed the fatwa in 2006.
Prosecutors said Matar spent more than a year researching the fatwa and communicated about it with people in Iran, Australia, and Canada while producing videos featuring footage of Nasrallah. He also traveled using the name "Hassan Mughniyeh," A combination of Nasrallah's name and that of deceased Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh.
"This was not an impulsive act," Stated Jarod Brown, assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division. "Matar conducted a violent attack in support of a designated foreign terrorist organization."
Matar faces up to life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for November 3.