According to a press release from the Justice Department, Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey, is facing charges related to terrorism offenses. He is also awaiting trial for murder in New York state court.
A grand jury has indicted Matar on three counts, including attempting to provide material support to Hizbollah, engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists.
“We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hizbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime,” stated Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.”
According to court documents and government statements, between September 2020 and August 2022, Matar attempted to provide support to Hizbollah by trying to carry out a fatwa calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie, which Matar believed was endorsed by Hizbollah.
The indictment also claims that Matar attempted to kill and assaulted Rushdie. Matar’s actions were influenced, at least in part, by a 2006 speech by Hizbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in which Nasrallah supported the fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, originally issued in 1989.
It is important to note that an indictment is an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
You can find the full indictment here.
