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Hadi Matar Charged with Attempted Murder, Terrorism in Buffalo NY
A grand jury in Buffalo, NY, returned a three-count indictment charging Hadi Matar, 26, of Fairview, New Jersey, with attempting to provide material support to Hizbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization, engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and providing material support to terrorists.
According to the indictment, Matar attempted to kill and did in fact assault Salman Rushdie, a renowned author and public speaker, in August 2022. Matar was motivated, in part, by a 2006 speech given by Hizbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in which Nasrallah endorsed the fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, which was originally issued in 1989.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated that the Justice system will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross added that the defendant put time and effort into traveling to the Western District of New York with the intent of taking the life of another.
The FBI is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy C. Lynch and Charles M. Kruly for the Western District of New York and Trial Attorney Frank Russo of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
Matar was arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was held pending a detention hearing on August 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. If convicted, Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime|Terrorism
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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