New Jersey Man Faces Terrorism Charges in Salman Rushdie Attempted Murder Case

July 26 :
Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey, was arraigned in federal court on charges related to an act of terrorism that crossed international borders, providing material support to terrorists, and attempting to provide material support to Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland alleged that Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hizballah, a designated terrorist organization linked with the Iranian state, in his attempt to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022. Those who violate fundamental liberties guaranteed by the Constitution by using violence in the name of terrorist organizations shall face prosecution by the Justice Department.

According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the defendant sought to bring about the execution of Salman Rushdie, in accordance with a fatwa that had been issued in 1989 by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran and with the support of Hizballah. No amount of hate speech or physical aggression against Americans expressing themselves freely in the United States will ever be accepted. Those who turn to violence will be pursued and held accountable by the FBI and our allies.

The defendant's deliberate pursuit of the Western District of New York was motivated by a desire to end the life of another person, according to U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross of the Western District of New York. Only the heroic deeds of the witnesses on that fateful day stopped the defendant from carrying out his homicidal plot. The joint efforts of our law enforcement investigative partners have led to this indictment, which is a step in the right direction towards holding the defendant to account for his crimes.

According to government declarations and court records, Matar sought to provide resources and material support to Hizballah from September 2020 until August 2022. Matar achieved this by trying to enforce a fatwa that Hizballah had approved, which called for Salman Rushdie's execution.

The accusation goes on to say that Matar assaulted Rushdie and tried to kill him. The fatwa demanding Rushdie's murder, first issued in 1989, was endorsed by Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in a speech made in 2006, which was one of the factors that inspired Matar, He might spend the rest of his life behind bars if found guilty.