A federal jury convicted Hadi Matar of terrorism charges linked to the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. The 28-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey, was found guilty of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, engaging in an act of terrorism that crossed national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said, “Matar spent more than a year immersing himself in Hezbollah’s violent ideology and preparing to act on a fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollahs calling for Mr. Rushdie’s murder.” “His brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism. With today’s verdict, justice has been done, and Matar will pay for his crimes,” Eisenberg added. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York said that “Matar, who was born and raised in the United States, chose to align his values with the terroristic values of the leaders of Iran, which often promote violence, and in this case, the call for murder.” DiGiacomo said Matar spent months preparing to kill Rushdie and hoped to emulate radical Islamic terrorists he looked up to. The attack did not succeed. Rushdie survived the stabbing after members of the public and law enforcement jumped into action. The attack occurred on August 12, 2022, when Matar charged Rushdie and stabbed him in the neck just before the author spoke at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York. Rushdie’s injuries proved more severe and required him to be placed on a ventilator. The co-moderator of the event was also wounded. Evidence presented by the government shows Matar researched the fatwa for more than a year, checking whether it remained in force, before he decided to act on it. The fatwa was originally issued in 1989 by Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, endorsed in a 2006 speech by Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and later reaffirmed in 2017 by then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes earlier this year. Before the attack, Matar discussed the fatwa and Hezbollah’s endorsement of it with people in Iran, Australia, and Canada. He constructed videos with titles such as Rushdie_Fatwa 2.0 and Rushdie_Fatwa 1.6 that combined footage about the fatwa with Nasrallah’s 2006 remarks. He also surrounded himself with symbols of Hezbollah martyrs.  Matar used a false identity to reach the event that Rushdie was speaking at in August 2022. He traveled as Hassan Mughniyeh and carried a counterfeit driver’s license under that name. The first name came from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The last name came from Imad Mughniyeh, who once led the terror group’s external security operations. The Justice Department noted that Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing is set for November 3 before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. This federal case follows Matar’s earlier state conviction. In May 2025, he received the maximum 25-year sentence for second-degree attempted murder, plus a concurrent seven-year term for the assault on event moderator Henry Reese. After the state sentencing, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said the attack continues to affect Rushdie. Schmidt described the author as traumatized and said he still has nightmares about the stabbing. Schmidt called it a serious setback for a man who had begun to reenter public life in his later years after long periods of hiding because of the fatwa. The federal conviction centers on the terrorism related counts tied directly to the same attack. Matar will next face sentencing on those charges in November.