Prosecutor will not cite fatwa as motive in Rushdie trial

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said he could prove intent “based on other circumstances.”

While authorities have claimed that Salman Rushdie’s attacker was motivated by a fatwa, or death threat, from Iran, the top prosecutor in the attacker’s trial said he would not cite that as a motive.

“I want to move away from these issues,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Friday of the fatwa that Iran’s leadership issued against Rushdie over the author’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.”

Federal authorities have alleged that Hadi Matar, 26, of New Jersey, was motivated by the fatwa when he stabbed Rushdie during a lecture in Western New York in 2022. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a July press release that Matar “committed an act of terrorism on behalf of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization allied with the Iranian regime.”

However, Schmidt, speaking to reporters during a conference call, said he could prove intent “based on other circumstances.” “My job here is to prove every single element of the criminal charges that have been filed,” he said. “In my view, this is a localized event. It’s a stabbing. It’s straightforward. And I don’t see any real need to go into motive evidence.

Schmidt will push for the maximum sentence

Matar was arrested on August 12, 2022, after authorities said he stormed onto the stage of the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater and repeatedly stabbed Rushdie, 77, and injured Henry Reese, 75, who was on stage with the author .

Matar is charged with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault. He pleaded not guilty to both charges and remains in custody at the Chautauqua County Jail.

Tuesday marks the first day of jury selection for his trial in Chautauqua County Court.

Schmidt said he would bring about 15 witnesses to the stand, including Rushdie, who he said would testify within the first two days of the trial. Schmidt said he expects the selection of the jury – 12 jurors and four alternates – to take up to two weeks and his presentation to take another two weeks.

Schmidt said he was arguing for the maximum statutory sentence – in this case, 25 years plus five years of post-release supervision for the attempted murder charge and seven years for the assault charge. He said it had not been decided whether these sentences would be imposed consecutively or concurrently.

The defense wants to change the venue and delay the trial

Schmidt added that Matar’s defense attorney has filed two pretrial motions. The first was a request to move the trial outside of Chautauqua County. The second request was for the suspension or temporary discontinuation of the legal proceedings.

Schmidt said he opposes both motions and both are pending in the Fourth Department’s Appellate Division.

Matar is represented by Chautauqua County Public Defender Nathaniel Barone.

Matar is being charged in federal court

In July, Mater was charged in federal court with “attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization, engaging in a terrorist attack that crosses national borders, and providing material support to terrorists,” according to a U.S. Judge Department press release.

If convicted, Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Rushdie, who underwent surgery at UPMC Hamot in Erie, suffered severe injuries to his neck, chest and torso and lost sight in one eye. Since then, he has made several public appearances, most notably as part of a book tour for his memoir, “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” which was published in April.

AJ Rao can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

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Prosecutor will not cite fatwa as motive in Rushdie trial

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said he could prove intent “based on other circumstances.”

Schmidt will push for the maximum sentence

The defense wants to change the venue and delay the trial

Matar is being charged in federal court

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Prosecutor will not cite fatwa as motive in Rushdie trial

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said he could prove intent “based on other circumstances.”

Schmidt will push for the maximum sentence

The defense wants to change the venue and delay the trial

Matar is being charged in federal court

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