Overview
- A U.S. District Court jury in Buffalo found Hadi Matar guilty on all federal counts on Wednesday after about two hours of deliberation, including attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah and engaging in transnational terrorism.
- Matar is already serving a 25‑year New York state sentence from a 2025 attempted‑murder conviction and faces a separate federal sentencing on November 3 with a maximum penalty of life in prison.
- Prosecutors presented months of online research, messaging exchanges and a private note saying “We need to kill him ASAP,” plus photos and videos showing Hezbollah symbols and praise, to link Matar’s planning and motive to the decades‑old fatwa against Rushdie.
- Salman Rushdie testified about the August 12, 2022 attack at the Chautauqua Institution, where he was stabbed about 15 times, suffered organ and nerve damage and permanently lost sight in his right eye.
- The case underscores U.S. dual‑sovereignty law that allows separate state and federal prosecutions and highlights broader concerns about threats to writers, the long reach of extremist messaging, and federal tools for holding attackers accountable.