Hadi Matar, who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a knife attack in 2022, now faces a new charge of providing material support to Hezbollah. This federal charge follows his rejection of a plea deal and adds to his ongoing state-level charges of attempted murder and assault.
CBS News reported that Matar was accused of attacking Rushdie at a literary event in western New York in 2022, causing severe injuries that led to Rushdie losing vision in one eye.
The legal troubles for Matar have escalated with a federal indictment accusing him of supporting Hezbollah from September 2020 to August 2022.
The indictment, revealed in the U.S. District Court in Buffalo, did not detail the evidence connecting Matar to Hezbollah. Earlier this month, Matar rejected a plea deal from state prosecutors that could have reduced his prison sentence if he had pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault, and a federal terrorism-related charge.
Both the state and federal cases against Matar will proceed to trial independently. Jury selection for the state case is scheduled to begin on October 15. Matar’s lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, has not yet commented on the recent federal charge. Matar, 26, has been held without bail since the knife attack on Rushdie.
During the assault, Rushdie was stabbed more than a dozen times. Henry Reese, the event's moderator, was also wounded. Rushdie later described his recovery process in a memoir published in April and recounted the ordeal in an interview with "60 Minutes."
In his "60 Minutes" interview, Rushdie spoke about the difficulty of writing his memoir and his reliance on language to process the traumatic event. "Language is a way of breaking open the world," he said. "I don't have any other weapons, but I'd been using this particular tool for quite a long time. So, I thought this was my way of dealing with it."
Rushdie has lived under the shadow of danger for decades. The 1989 fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini over his novel "The Satanic Verses" forced him into hiding.
Attacks on individuals associated with the book include the fatal stabbing of its Japanese translator in 1991, a knife attack on its Italian translator, and the shooting of its Norwegian publisher in 1993.
The attack on Rushdie again highlighted concerns about his security measures. He was under the protection of state police and county sheriff's deputies during the lecture, but these precautions were evidently insufficient to prevent the assault.
Born in the U.S. with dual Lebanese citizenship, Matar reportedly became withdrawn and moody after visiting his father in Lebanon in 2018. Investigations into Rushdie’s stabbing considered whether Matar had acted alone or was motivated by connections to militant or religious groups.
As Matar's trials approach, his defense strategies and the prosecution's evidence will be closely scrutinized. The new federal charge of supporting Hezbollah significantly complicates his legal situation, creating a multifaceted court battle that will draw national attention.
Matar's decision to reject the plea deal suggests he is prepared for a lengthy legal process, with both state and central trials set to probe into his motivations and potential connections to terrorist activities.
Rushdie continues to be a symbol of resilience in the literary world. His dedication to writing, despite ongoing threats, underscores his commitment to freedom of expression. Reflecting on his recovery, Rushdie highlighted the power of words as his primary means of navigating traumatic experiences.
Hadi Matar, the individual who attacked Salman Rushdie in 2022, now faces an additional federal charge for supporting Hezbollah, with trials for attempted murder and assault also set to proceed.
Matar, who has been held without bail since the attack, rejected a plea deal that could have shortened his prison time.
Rushdie's recovery from the assault, documented in his recent memoir, continues to attract attention, especially given his past threats stemming from "The Satanic Verses." The ongoing legal proceedings against Matar and the broader implications for security and terror-related activities make this a pivotal case to follow.
