Trial suspended for Hadi Matar, New Jersey man accused of knife attack that injured Salman Rushdie

The attempted murder trial of the man accused of seriously injuring perpetrator Salman Rushdie in a knife attack in 2022 was adjourned on Friday while judges consider a request to transfer him to another county.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday.

On Friday night, an appellate judge in Rochester stayed the proceedings until the court rules on a motion by Hadi Matar’s attorney for a change of venue outside of Chautauqua County, where the attack occurred.

The court could rule on the motion as early as Tuesday — courts are closed Monday — but the trial has been removed from the calendar until further notice, District Attorney Jason Schmidt said.

“This presents another layer of difficulties and challenges for us,” he said. “I’m disappointed.”

Matar’s attorney, Nathaniel Barone, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Matar has been held without bail since he took the stage as Rushdie prepared to speak at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed him more than a dozen times before being subdued by spectators.

The author of the “Satanic Verses” was left blind in one eye. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, was also injured.

Matar pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.

In a separate indictment, federal authorities allege that Matar was motivated by a terrorist organization’s endorsement of a fatwa, or decree, calling for Rushdie’s death. A separate trial on the federal charges – terrorism that transcends national borders, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization – will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.