Salman Rushdie stabber sentenced to 25 years for attempted murder
Hadi Matar was convicted in the 2022 stabbing attack on the author.
A New Jersey man convicted of attempted murder in the 2022 stabbing attack on author Salman Rushdie, while on stage at a speaking event, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday, the maximum sentence he faced.
Hadi Matar's sentencing hearing was held Friday morning in Chautauqua County Court, after a jury found him guilty in February of second-degree attempted murder in connection with the attack at the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York. A defense motion to set aside the verdict was denied prior to sentencing.
Rushdie was on stage speaking before an audience at the education center on Aug. 12, 2022, when he was stabbed multiple times in the face and neck in the attack, which blinded him in one eye.
Henry Reese, who was moderating the event, was also wounded in the attack. Matar was also found guilty of assault for injuring Reese.
Matar was tackled by bystanders and pinned to the stage following the attack.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt asked the judge to take into consideration what those who witnessed the stabbing experienced while asking for the maximum sentence.
"The victims are not limited to Mr. Reese and Mr. Rush. There were over 1,400 witnesses to this event," he said. "I would say to this court that each and every one of those individuals will live with the trauma of having witnessed this event before their eyes."
He argued Matar made a "premeditated choice to attack somebody without provocation, based upon his own belief system," and stabbed Rushdie as the author was participating in a discussion on freedom of expression.
Matar's public defender, Nathaniel Barone, countered that there had been no evidence or testimony presented in the case that spoke to motive or intent, or that the defendant "planned to victimize 1,400 people."
Barone cited Matar's lack of criminal history among potential mitigating factors. He said he found a 25-year sentence "harsh" and "excessive" while asking for 12 years in prison.
Matar, 27, addressed the court ahead of sentencing, during which he called Rushdie a "bully" and "hypocrite" over matters of freedom of speech.
"Salman Rushdie wants to disrespect other people," Matar said. "He wants to bully other people. I don't agree with that."
He did not apologize or express any remorse over the stabbing attack.
In handing down the maximum sentence, Judge David Foley expressed his concern about Matar possibly committing a similar act again in the future.
"I think to myself, what prevents you from doing this again?" Foley said. "What prevents you from getting out and attempting to do it again to Mr. Rushdie, or doing it to someone else that you think is being disrespectful to whatever your ideals are?"
The judge also said he found it "truly disturbing" that Matar justified his actions because he believed Rushdie shouldn't be respected, and chose an institution that is "the epitome of free speech." Based on the evidence and Matar's statements in court, the judge said he concluded that the defendant "intentionally picked this facility out and went there to make your work point against Mr. Rushdie."
Rushdie had submitted a victim impact statement, which wasn't read in court.
"Three years is a long time. It's been a lot. There's been many delays, from my perspective," Schmidt told reporters following the sentencing hearing. "I'm just glad that justice delayed is not justice denied."
Barone said he plans to file a notice of appeal on Friday to overturn the conviction.
"We had an uphill battle from the very beginning," he told reporters. "You look for a level playing field. That's all you can ask for."
Matar rejected a plea deal ahead of the trial.
His sentence includes 25 years in prison plus five years post-release supervision for the second-degree attempted murder charge and seven years plus three years post-release supervision for the assault charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Schmidt said Friday that Matar will receive credit for the time he has been incarcerated since the event and there are opportunities that could mitigate the sentence.
"I hope that he utilizes that time," Schmidt said. "When he gets out, he'll be younger than I am now. He'll have a fairly full life ahead of him, and hopefully he'll reconsider his value system in light of what's occurred here. It's a tragedy. It's a tragedy that anyone should resort to this level of violence. It's a tragedy that all of this occurred. It's a horrific event."
Schmidt said following the verdict that he believed the sentences for the two charges would run concurrently, not consecutively, as they were "entwined in a single occurrence."
"My analysis tells me that -- and I always want to be fair here -- that really the facts speak to a concurrent disposition," he said at the time. "I believe even though the cumulative total is 32 years plus five years parole supervision, I think we're really looking at 25 plus five. That's what I'll advocate for. I think that's appropriate here."
During the trial, Schmidt played slow-motion video showing Matar emerging from the audience, sprinting toward Rushdie, and launching a violent attack. Schmidt described the stabbing as a deliberate, targeted act, arguing that striking someone 10 to 15 times in the face and neck made death a foreseeable outcome. A trauma surgeon testified that Rushdie would have died without immediate medical intervention.
"No question," Rushdie told "Good Morning America" in April 2024 when asked if he thought he was going to die. "I mean, lying there in this lake of blood, which was mine and was expanding, I remember thinking in a completely calm way, Oh yeah, I think I'm dying. And then, fortunately, I was wrong."
The defense countered that prosecutors failed to prove Matar intended to kill Rushdie and characterized the incident as a chaotic, noisy outburst rather than a calculated murder attempt. Barone argued Matar was overcharged due to Rushdie’s celebrity, noting he used knives rather than a gun or bomb and that Rushdie’s vital organs were not harmed.
Both Rushdie and Reese testified during the two-week trial. Matar did not testify and the defense called no witnesses.
The jury reached a verdict within two hours of deliberating.
Following the verdict, Schmidt described the prosecution's case as "lock solid" and described the video evidence as "compelling."
"I hope that two-and-a-half years later, Mr. Rushdie can get some satisfaction from this, poor Mr. Reese can get some satisfaction from this and everybody else that was there at the institution that risked their lives to jump on stage," Schmidt told reporters.
Barone, meanwhile, told reporters they were "disappointed" by the verdict.
"What you hope for in any case, regardless, especially in a case like Mr. Matar's, is that the system works for you," Barone said.
Rushdie recounted the attack in his book, "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder," which was published last year.
Matar still faces federal terrorism charges in connection with the attack. He was indicted by a grand jury on three counts, including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and providing material support to terrorists. The indictment alleges he "knowingly did attempt to provide material support and resources" to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and "had engaged, and was engaging, in terrorism."
Matar was also charged with an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries for the attack against Rushdie. The indictment alleges that he "did knowingly attempt to kill, and did knowingly maim, commit an assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon."
He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.
Barone, who is also representing Matar in the federal case, said Friday that the volume of discovery is "massive."
"It's a very complex situation," he said. "The nature of the charges of course is very different than what was filed here in this county."
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