Key facts
- Hadi Matar convicted of federal terrorism charges for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie.
- Matar was found to have provided material support to Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization.
- Prosecutors linked Matar's motivation to a 1989 fatwa against Rushdie and a 2006 Hezbollah leader's speech.
- Rushdie testified about the 15 stab wounds he sustained, resulting in partial blindness.
- Matar is already serving a state sentence for attempted murder and faces a potential life sentence federally.
Hadi Matar, the assailant who stabbed author Salman Rushdie on stage in 2022, has been found guilty of federal terrorism charges. A U.S. District Court jury in Buffalo, New York, convicted Matar, 28, on Wednesday of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah and engaging in transnational terrorism. Prosecutors presented evidence that Matar spent over a year researching a 1989 fatwa against Rushdie before carrying out the attack at the Chautauqua Institution. Rushdie, 79, testified about the multiple stab wounds he sustained, which resulted in partial blindness and required extensive recovery. Matar, a U.S. citizen, is already serving a 25-year state prison sentence for attempted murder and faces a potential life sentence on the federal charges, with sentencing scheduled for November 3.