Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday in the federal terrorism trial of Hadi Matar, accused of attempting to kill author Salman Rushdie in August 2022. The trial, taking place in the federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York, aims to explore the alleged motivations behind the stabbing that occurred at a Chautauqua Institution lecture.
Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year sentence in New York state prison following a conviction on state-level attempted murder and assault charges. The state case primarily focused on the physical act of the knife attack itself. The federal trial, however, will delve into deeper questions of motive, with prosecutors arguing Matar acted out of loyalty to Iran's theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. This alleged allegiance stems from a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie's death over his novel "The Satanic Verses."
Prosecutors contend that Matar's electronic devices contained information about the fatwa and that he kept a journal detailing research on Rushdie and potential attack methods. Court filings from 2025 also indicate that federal agents found photos of Khomeini and the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Matar's New Jersey bedroom. "When he attempted to carry out the fatwa, he believed he was doing so on behalf of" Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, according to assistant U.S. attorneys Timothy Lynch and Charles Kruly.
Salman Rushdie, 79, is expected to be a key witness in the federal trial, recounting the stabbing that nearly killed him and resulted in the loss of sight in one eye. He has previously detailed the attack and his recovery in testimony during his state court trial, in a memoir, and in interviews. "The thing that happens when you get really a close-up look at death — that’s as close as you can get without actually doing the dance of death and heading off to nowhere — it stays with you," Rushdie told The Associated Press in 2024. "There’s a shadow."
Matar has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. His attorney, Nathaniel Barone, indicated he would deliver an opening statement. Lawyers for Matar had previously attempted to exclude certain evidence from his social media and digital activity, arguing the government's electronic searches were overly broad.
Matar, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Lebanon, has previously expressed support for Palestinians. His mother has stated that he became withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon. Rushdie, born in India and raised in Britain, is a U.S. citizen. While he received the Booker Prize in 1981 for "Midnight's Children," he became widely known for "The Satanic Verses," which prompted protests and the fatwa that forced him into hiding for years. Although the fatwa has not been actively enforced by Iran in recent years, it has never been rescinded. Iran's government has denied involvement in the 2022 stabbing but suggested Rushdie had invited trouble by insulting Islam.
Following the 2022 attack, Rushdie published a memoir titled "Knife" and returned to fiction last year with a collection of short stories and novellas, "The Eleventh Hour." He was also recognized with a Dayton Literary Peace Prize lifetime achievement award in November.