{"id":22074,"date":"2026-07-30T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T08:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22074"},"modified":"2026-07-30T13:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T08:52:33","slug":"man-convicted-over-the-2022-stabbing-of-salman-rushdie-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22074","title":{"rendered":"Man convicted over the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136259\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 4432;&#10;        --source-height: 2955;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 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30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2955+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"FILE - Hadi Matar walks in to the Chautauqua County court in Mayville, N.Y., May, 16, 2025.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                FILE &#8211; Hadi Matar walks in to the Chautauqua County court in Mayville, N.Y., May, 16, 2025.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A man was convicted Wednesday of federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, the author who has faced a decades-old death threat over his novel &#8220;The Satanic Verses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After just a couple of hours of deliberations, a jury found Hadi Matar guilty of all the charges against him, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Rushdie, who was about to speak on writers&#8217; safety, was slashed 15 times on an amphitheater stage in 2022. He was gravely wounded and lost the sight in his right eye.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors asserted that Matar was motivated by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini &#8216;s 1989 call for Rushdie&#8217;s death because of &#8220;The Satanic Verses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136262\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 5431;&#10;        --source-height: 3473;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 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30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5431x3473+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fc8%2Fb902b1e34aa49b65598c681b7e6e%2Fap26202823210214.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"FILE - Novelist Salman Rushdie attends the premiere of the documentary film &quot;Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie&quot; during the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25, 2026, at The Ray in Park City, Utah.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                FILE &#8211; Novelist Salman Rushdie attends the premiere of the documentary film &#8220;Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie&#8221; during the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25, 2026, at The Ray in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello, File)<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Chris Pizzello\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Chris Pizzello\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;His brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism,&#8221; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a statement after the verdict, adding that &#8220;justice has been done.&#8221; Iran&#8217;s government has denied involvement in the attack.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Matar&#8217;s defense: No evidence of his state of mind<\/h3>\n<p>Messages seeking comment on the verdict were sent to Matar&#8217;s attorneys and Rushdie&#8217;s assistant. During the trial, defense lawyer Nathaniel Barone said the government had no proof of what was in Matar&#8217;s head.<\/p>\n<p>Matar himself declined to testify. Rushdie did, telling jurors: &#8220;I can&#8217;t say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136257-100\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-62464\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/05\/16\/g-s1-62464\/rushdie-salman-attacker-guilty-sentence\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/g-s1-62464\\\/rushdie-salman-attacker-guilty-sentence&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5464x5464+1437+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F7e%2Fb937f9344d8fa7b52d2baeb3dfab%2Fgettyimages-2153262038.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Novelist Salman Rushdie promotes the German-language edition of his book Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder in Berlin on May 16, 2024. In the book, Rushdie confronts the 2022 attack that left him blind in one eye.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-136257-100\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence on an attempted murder conviction in the stabbing. His federal sentencing is set for Nov. 3, when he faces a potential life term.<\/p>\n<p>Rushdie won Britain&#8217;s prestigious Booker Prize for his 1981 novel &#8220;Midnight&#8217;s Children,&#8221; about his native India. &#8220;The Satanic Verses,&#8221; a novel of magical realism about the lives and dreams of two actors who survive a plane explosion, followed in 1988.<\/p>\n<p>It drew critical acclaim in the United Kingdom but engendered protests around the Muslim world over what some believers saw as blasphemous suggestions about Islam&#8217;s Prophet Muhammad, particularly in a dream sequence. Over the ensuing years, at least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, a Japanese translator was stabbed to death, and an Italian translator and Norwegian publisher were attacked.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" class=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" aria-label=\"recommended stories\"\/>\n<!-- END ID=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n<p>Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family, has said the dream sequence was just that. But he went into hiding for years, gradually emerging after Iran&#8217;s government distanced itself in 1998 from Khomeini&#8217;s fatwa, or religious edict.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For two decades or more, I led a public life without a hint of trouble,&#8221; Rushdie testified at the trial in Buffalo, New York.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the fatwa was never rescinded; indeed, Khomenei&#8217;s successor, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, indicated in 2017 that it remained in effect. An Iranian foundation has offered a more than $3 million bounty for killing Rushdie.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Prosecutors: Matar&#8217;s messages showed him zeroing in on Rushdie<\/h3>\n<p>Matar broached the fatwa with contacts in messaging apps in 2021 and 2022, according to exhibits shown in court. The messages showed Matar fuming that he felt Rushdie had attacked Islam and, by surviving, emboldened others to insult the faith. Matar alluded to a 2006 comment along those lines by the late Hezbollah militant group leader Hassan Nasrallah, the messages showed.<\/p>\n<p>Born in the U.S., Matar also holds citizenship in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. Prosecutors said that photos in Matar&#8217;s New Jersey bedroom and on his computer indicated his support for Hezbollah, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n<p>Matar &#8220;spent months planning and preparing to carry out what he hoped would be the execution of Salman Rushdie,&#8221; U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136257-101\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImagenx-s1-5598996\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/11\/05\/nx-s1-5598996\/nprs-book-of-the-day-salman-rushdie-the-eleventh-hour\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/nx-s1-5598996\\\/nprs-book-of-the-day-salman-rushdie-the-eleventh-hour&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2160x2160+840+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F75%2Fa191bf6a450dbe1ecc99f6e731bb%2F14d48e35-379f-4b7c-a260-c371cff937ea.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"In 'The Eleventh Hour,' Salman Rushdie writes about morality, revenge and ghosts\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-136257-101\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>The messages showed Matar initially talked about wanting to &#8220;expose&#8221; Rushdie, then about taking his life. In a private note to himself, he wrote: &#8220;We need to kill him ASAP,&#8221; Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement on July 22. The prosecutor said Matar framed the planned killing as part of what he considered a jihad, or holy war.<\/p>\n<p>By spring 2022, the electronic chats showed, Matar wrote that he had discerned where Rushdie lived and was tracking his public appearances, eventually pointing out his scheduled August 2022 talk at the Chautauqua Institution, a western New York arts and intellectual center.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-third-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap third\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>As Rushdie was being introduced, his attacker climbed on stage behind him, then stabbed him as the audience gasped. Spectators and another speaker, Henry Reese, scrambled to aid Rushdie. Law enforcement officers, assigned to the event, arrested the attacker \u2014 soon identified as Matar \u2014 after civilians restrained him.<\/p>\n<p>Rushdie published a 2024 memoir about the attack, then returned to fiction with last year&#8217;s &#8220;The Eleventh Hour.&#8221; The author, who was knighted by Britain&#8217;s late Queen Elizabeth II, received a Dayton Literary Peace Prize lifetime achievement award in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FILE &#8211; Hadi Matar walks in to the Chautauqua County court in Mayville, N.Y., May, 16, 2025. Adrian Kraus\/AP hide caption toggle caption Adrian Kraus\/AP A man was convicted Wednesday of federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, the author who has faced a decades-old death threat over his novel &#8220;The Satanic&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4432x2493+0+231\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F2e%2F186963154293beef1e50dd736bb6%2Fap26202823107887.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}