A federal judge in Western New York has upheld the jury's conviction of Hadi Matar on all three counts related to the August 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. Matar had moved for acquittal, arguing that his actions were not legally "material support" to Hizballah because he acted independently, inspired by ideology rather than under the group's direction.
The court rejected that argument, emphasizing that the trial evidence showed Matar was attempting to fulfill a specific fatwa against Rushdie issued by Iran's Supreme Leader and later endorsed by Hizballah's then-leader Hassan Nasrallah. Unlike a recent Second Circuit case involving ISIS propaganda that urged general attacks, the fatwa here commanded the killing of a named individual for a specific reason.
The judge noted that Matar had created videos incorporating Nasrallah's endorsement, and expert testimony described Hizballah as an Iranian proxy. The jury could reasonably find that the fatwa was the sole reason for the attack, satisfying the requirement that Matar acted under Hizballah's direction or control. The ruling preserves the federal terrorism convictions, which carry harsher penalties than state attempted murder charges.