A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, convicted Hadi Matar on July 29, 2026, on terrorism charges stemming from his 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Matar, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen from Fairview, New Jersey, guilty on all counts. Matar now faces a potential life sentence (Al Jazeera).

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the verdict through its Office of Public Affairs, confirming the conviction on charges relating to the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie (DOJ OPA). The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York, which published the announcement on its news page. The DOJ National Security Division also featured the conviction in its press room.

A grand jury initially returned a three-count indictment against Matar on July 24, 2024, when he was 26 years old (DOJ USAO-WDNy). The federal charges included attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah in Lebanon, engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists (Al Jazeera).

The federal trial opened on July 22, 2026. During the proceedings, Salman Rushdie testified for the second time about the attack (AP News). Matar had pleaded not guilty to the federal terrorism charges. He declined to testify and chose not to call any witnesses in his defense (AP News).

The original attack occurred on stage at a western New York amphitheater in 2022. The venue was hosting an event at a New York arts institute. Rushdie was partially blinded as a result of the stabbing. Henry Reese, who was stabbed alongside Rushdie, was the co-founder of the organization hosting the event (Reuters).

Prior to the federal conviction, Matar was found guilty of attempted murder in the second degree in New York state court in 2025. He was also convicted of assault in the second degree for stabbing Henry Reese (Reuters). At the time of the federal conviction, Matar was already serving a 25-year prison sentence for the state attempted murder charge.

Prosecutors argued at the federal trial that Matar was inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa calling for Salman Rushdie's death. Evidence presented at trial showed Matar discussed the fatwa on messaging apps in 2021 and 2022. Iran has denied any involvement in the attack on Rushdie (Al Jazeera).

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg issued a statement after the verdict saying "justice has been done" and calling the attack "a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism" (Al Jazeera).

The broader context here involves the U.S. government's legal strategy of layering federal terrorism charges on top of state-level attempted murder convictions. By charging Matar with attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah and engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries, federal prosecutors have positioned the attack not solely as a localized act of violence but as an event connected to transnational networks. The prosecution's use of Matar's messaging app discussions about the 1989 fatwa served as a bridge between the defendant's stated ideological motivations and the federal terrorism statutes.

Eisenberg's statement explicitly linking the verdict to "the global reach of Iranian terrorism" elevates the case's diplomatic dimensions. This framing aligns the DOJ's rhetoric with long-standing U.S. posture toward Iran's alleged use of proxy organizations, even as Tehran maintains its denial of involvement. The case sets a notable precedent for how domestic courts address ideologically motivated violence tied to foreign designations. Matar, already serving a 25-year state sentence, now confronts the possibility of consecutive federal sentencing, raising the operational stakes of the dual-track prosecution.