Rushdie Attacker Charged With Supporting Militant Group Hezbollah

Facts

• Hadi Matar, the man accused of attempting to kill author Salman Rushdie, has been charged with terrorism for allegedly acting on behalf of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.^[1]
• Matar, a 26-year-old American of Lebanese descent, has been held without bail since the 2022 attack, during which he stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times as the writer was onstage to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, leaving Rushdie blind in one eye.^[2]
• The Justice Department claims that Matar sought to provide 'material support and resources' to Hezbollah, though it did not detail the evidence connecting him to the group.^[3]
• Matar, who also faces separate state charges of attempted murder and assault, has pleaded not guilty to the new federal charges, which include terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists, and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.^[4]
• Matar faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. The federal charges come weeks after he rejected a deal from prosecutors that would have given him a shorter prison term had he pleaded guilty.^[3]
• Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death in 1989 over his book 'The Satanic Verses,' which Khomeini said was blasphemous. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah publicly endorsed the fatwa in 2006.^[5]

Sources: ^[1]France 24, ^[2]PBS NewsHour, ^[3]BBC News, ^[4]Washington Post and ^[5]Time.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Matar is a violent criminal who attempted to murder Rushdie on behalf of a violent terrorist organization. By attempting to carry out a fatwa, Matar committed an act of terrorism and should not just be charged with attempted murder but also with terrorism.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Tehran Times. There is clearly no link between Matar and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Though nothing justifies the brutal attack, it was prompted by Rushdie's book, which is a serious offense to the entire Muslim world. All evidence suggests Matar acted alone.