FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS NEW JERSEY MAN ON TERRORISM CHARGES FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF AUTHOR SALMAN RUSHDIE

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal jury has convicted a New Jersey man on multiple terrorism-related charges stemming from the August 2022 attempted murder of internationally known author Salman Rushdie, concluding that the attack was motivated by longstanding terrorist ideology and an effort to carry out a decades-old religious decree calling for Rushdie’s death.

Hadi Matar, 28, of Fairview, New Jersey, was found guilty of attempting to provide material support to Hizbollah, engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced Wednesday.

Matar is scheduled to be sentenced on November 3, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. He faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

According to evidence presented during trial, Matar spent more than a year researching and preparing for the attack before attempting to kill Rushdie on August 12, 2022, while the author was preparing to speak at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York.

Federal prosecutors argued that the attack was intended to carry out a fatwa, or religious decree, first issued in 1989 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s Supreme Leader at the time, following the publication of Rushdie’s 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. Prosecutors further stated the fatwa was reaffirmed in 2017 by Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and publicly endorsed in 2006 by Hassan Nasrallah, then Secretary General of Hizbollah.

According to trial testimony, Matar extensively researched the continuing validity of the fatwa before deciding to carry out the attack. Prosecutors also presented evidence showing he communicated about the fatwa with individuals located in Iran, Australia, and Canada, created videos referencing the decree, and compiled media featuring speeches by Hassan Nasrallah supporting the call for Rushdie’s execution.

The government further that Matar immersed himself in Hizbollah’s ideology before the attack. Evidence introduced at trial showed he traveled to the Chautauqua Institution using the alias “Hassan Mughniyeh,” a name prosecutors said combined references to Hassan Nasrallah and Imad Mughniyeh, the former head of Hizbollah’s External Security Organization who was linked to numerous terrorist attacks. Authorities also testified that Matar carried a fraudulent driver’s license bearing that name and, on the morning of the attack, accessed a Hizbollah website and captured images honoring members the organization regarded as martyrs.

United States Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said the evidence demonstrated that Matar deliberately aligned himself with violent extremist ideology and spent months preparing for the attack.

“Hadi Matar, who was born and raised in the United States, chose to align his values with the terroristic values of the leaders of Iran, which often promote violence, and in this case, the call for murder,” DiGiacomo said. “The defendant spent months planning and preparing to carry out what he hoped would be the execution of Salman Rushdie and possibly follow in the footsteps of martyrs he admired.”

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg described the attack as an example of the continuing international influence of terrorist ideology.

“Matar spent more than a year immersing himself in Hizballah’s violent ideology and preparing to act on a fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollahs calling for Mr. Rushdie’s murder,” Eisenberg said. “His brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism.”

FBI Buffalo Special Agent in Charge Allen D. Davis II said the verdict reinforces the federal government’s commitment to protecting constitutional freedoms from acts of terrorism.

“Today’s guilty verdict reaffirms that acts of terrorism will not prevail over the freedoms our nation was built to protect,” Davis said. “By attempting to silence free expression through terrorism, the defendant attacked not only an individual, but a U.S. Constitutional right.”

The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy C. Lynch and Charles M. Kruly, along with Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The investigation was led by the FBI Buffalo Field Office and the New York State Police, with assistance from the FBI Newark Field Office and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

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