Man charged with attempted murder over Salman Rushdie attack

The 75-year-old author was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was arrested. Picture: AP Photo/Joshua Goodman

The man suspected of stabbing Sir Salman Rushdie has been arrested for attempted murder and assault, New York state police have said.

The suspected attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, has been transported to Chautauqua County Jail and will be arraigned later today.

A statement shared on the New York state police website said: “On August 12, 2022, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested Hadi Matar, 24 of Fairview, NJ for Attempted Murder 2nd degree (B Felony) and Assault 2nd degree.

“Matar was processed at SP Jamestown and transported to Chautauqua County Jail and will be arraigned in centralised arraignment on August 13, 2022”.

Author on ventilator and may lose eye

Mr Rushdie is reportedly on a ventilator and may lose an eye after he was stabbed on stage in New York state.

Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked and stabbed in the neck on Friday by a man who rushed the stage as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.

New York state police have named the suspected attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, and he has been arrested for attempted murder and assault.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man confront Mr Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing him 10 to 15 times as he was being introduced.

The 75-year-old author was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was arrested.

Mr Rushdie was then taken by helicopter to a hospital, state police said. 

"Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged," his agent Andrew Wylie said.

A statement from New York State Police said: “On August 12 2022, at about 11am, a male suspect ran up on to the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer.

“Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known.

“The interviewer suffered a minor head injury. A State Trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody. The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene. More information will be released when it is available.”

Rabbi Charles Savenor was among the hundreds of people in the audience. Amid gasps, spectators were ushered out of the outdoor amphitheatre.

Mr Rushdie has been a prominent spokesman for free expression and liberal causes. Picture: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File

“This guy ran on to platform and started pounding on Mr Rushdie. At first you’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten,” Rabbi Savenor said. He said the attack lasted about 20 seconds.

A bloodied Mr Rushdie was quickly surrounded by a small group of people who held up his legs, presumably to send more blood to his chest.

Mr Rushdie was due to speak to Henry Reese, from the City of Asylum organisation, a residency programme for writers living in exile under threat of persecution.

They were due to discuss America’s role as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression.

Mr Rushdie has been a prominent spokesman for free expression and liberal causes. He is a former president of PEN America, which said it was “reeling from shock and horror” at the attack.

The moment Salman Rushdie’s attacker was led off stage at the @chq. Via @AP.

For more than a century the Chautauqua Institution has been a summer oasis for reflection, study and prayer. Today it’s also a crime scene. pic.twitter.com/wP6J7doF1Y

— Joshua Goodman (@APjoshgoodman) August 12, 2022

“We can think of no comparable incident of a public violent attack on a literary writer on American soil,” CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.

“Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered,” she added.

New York governor Kathy Hochul told a press conference that a state police officer saved his life and that of the moderator, who she said was also attacked.

“He is alive, he has been airlifted to safety. But here is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power, someone who’s been out there unafraid, despite the threats that have followed him his entire adult life.” 

Jeremy Genovese, 68, from Beachwood, Ohio, a retired academic from Cleveland State University, told the PA news agency he arrived at the amphitheatre as it was being evacuated and that people were “streaming out”.

He said: “People were in shock, many people in tears. Chautauqua has always prided itself as a place where people can engage in civil dialogue.

"The amphitheatre is a large outdoor venue where people have given lectures since the late 1800s. You need a pass to access the grounds but it is not too difficult get in.”

Mr Rushdie’s publisher Penguin Random House said they are “deeply shocked and appalled” to hear that he was stabbed at the event.

The chief executive of Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, said in a statement to the PA news agency: “We are deeply shocked and appalled to hear of the attack on Salman Rushdie while he was speaking at the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

“We condemn this violent public assault, and our thoughts are with Salman and his family at this distressing time.”

The Chautauqua Institution, which was hosting the lecture tweeted about the incident, writing: “We ask for your prayers for Salman Rushdie and Henry Reese, and patience as we fully focus on co-ordinating with police officials following a tragic incident at the Amphitheater today.

“All programs are canceled for the remainder of the day. Please consult the NYS Police statement.”

An officer with the Chautauqua Sheriff's Department speaks to a person at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y. Picture: AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

British prime minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter he was “appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend”.

He added: “Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay.”

His 1988 book The Satanic Verses was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims. Often-violent protests against Mr Rushdie erupted around the world, including a riot that killed 12 people in Mumbai.

The novel was banned in Iran, where the late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or edict, calling for Mr Rushdie’s death.

A bounty of over three million US dollars has also been offered for anyone who kills the British-Indian author.

The death threats and bounty led Mr Rushdie to go into hiding under a British government protection programme, including a round-the-clock armed guard.

Mr Rushdie emerged after nine years of seclusion and cautiously resumed more public appearances, maintaining his outspoken criticism of religious extremism overall.

Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment has lingered.

The Index on Censorship, an organisation promoting free expression, said money was raised to boost the reward for his killing as recently as 2016, underscoring that the fatwa for his death still stands.

In 2012, Mr Rushdie published a memoir, Joseph Anton, about the fatwa. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie had used while in hiding.

Mr Rushdie rose to prominence with his Booker Prize-winning 1981 novel Midnight’s Children, but his name became known around the world after The Satanic Verses.

The Chautauqua Institution, about 55 miles south-west of Buffalo in a rural corner of New York, is known for its summertime lecture series.

Mr Rushdie has spoken there before.