In August of 2022, Salman Rushdie was attacked on stage at a Chautauqua, NY event where he was set to deliver a lecture about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers; he was stabbed ten times in the face and abdomen, sustaining significant injuries and ultimately losing his vision in his right eye. Law enforcement named the assailant as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, whom they took into custody. Rushdie has been the target of death threats for years—including from the government of Iran, who has explicitly called for his assassination for years under a fatwa. Iran has denied involvement in the attack.
In the wake of the attack, there was an outpouring of support for Rushdie; he has since written a bestselling book about the experience, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.
In July 2024, Matar rejected a plea deal; the trial had been set to begin in January of that year, but was pushed back so that the defense could subpoena drafts of Rushdie’s memoir. It finally began this month, on February 10, at the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY.
“It occurred to me that I was dying. That was my predominant thought,” Rushdie testified during the trial. “I was very struck by his eyes, which were dark and seemed very ferocious.” Matar did not testify, nor did his team call any witnesses.
Today, the Chautauqua jury found Matar guilty of attempted murder. He was also found guilty of assault for injuring the event’s moderator, Ralph Henry Reese. Matar faces up to 32 years in prison; his sentencing is scheduled for April 23.
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