Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie in 2022, was found guilty on July 29 of federal terrorism charges related to the attack. The verdict, delivered by a jury in Buffalo, New York, concludes a trial that began earlier that month and follows Matar’s 2025 conviction and 25-year sentence for attempted murder in state court.

Matar, 28, a U.S. citizen with Lebanese heritage, was convicted of providing material support to Hezbollah, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. He was also found guilty of engaging in transnational terrorism and supporting terrorist activities. The jury reached its decision after just two hours of deliberation.

The attack occurred on August 12, 2022, at the Chautauqua Institution, a cultural retreat in western New York, where Rushdie was scheduled to speak on writers in exile. Matar rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times, causing severe injuries, including the loss of sight in his right eye and nerve damage. Rushdie was hospitalized and later moved to a rehabilitation center in New York City.

The prosecution argued that Matar’s actions were motivated by a decades-old fatwa issued in 1989 by Iran’s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The edict called for Rushdie’s death following the publication of "The Satanic Verses," a novel that included a fictionalized depiction of the Prophet Muhammad and was widely condemned by many Muslims as blasphemous. The fatwa led to years of threats against Rushdie’s life and attacks on translators and publishers associated with the book.

Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Matar avidly supported Hezbollah and that the attack was an act of terrorism carried out in alignment with the fatwa. They showed jurors Matar’s personal notes, which contained references to the fatwa and statements such as “We need to kill him ASAP” and “beginning of Jihad.” Prosecutors also highlighted Matar’s possession of Hezbollah imagery and propaganda, including a video featuring speeches by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

Matar’s defense attorney contested the federal charges, acknowledging the stabbing but maintaining that Matar acted independently without coordination or direction from Hezbollah or the Iranian government. The lawyer described Matar’s motives as personal and religious rather than affiliated with any terrorist organization.

Rushdie, who had spent years in hiding following the fatwa, testified during the trial, describing the brutal attack and its aftermath. He told the court that the knife wound had come dangerously close to his brain and recalled seeing the masked assailant before the assault.

Matar is scheduled to be sentenced in November and faces the possibility of a life sentence under federal law. The case has drawn attention to longstanding tensions surrounding freedom of expression and violent reactions to religiously sensitive material.