New Jersey's Hadi Matar Charged with Federal Terrorism Offenses for Hezbollah-Linked Attack on Salman Rushdie

Jul 24, 2024, 07:25 PM

Hadi Matar, the New Jersey man accused of severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in New York in 2022, now faces federal terrorism charges. An unsealed indictment in the US District Court in Buffalo charges Matar with providing material support to Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon and backed by Iran. The attack, which left Rushdie blind in one eye, was allegedly motivated by a fatwa endorsed by a Hezbollah leader calling for Rushdie's death. Matar faces three federal terrorism-related counts and has pleaded not guilty to state murder and assault charges and is awaiting trial.