Trial on hold for New Jersey man charged in knife attack that injured Salman Rushdie

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — The attempted murder trial of the man charged with severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack was put on hold Friday while judges consider a request to move it to another county.

Jury selection had been scheduled to start on Tuesday.

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

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

“It 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 rushing the stage as Rushdie prepared to speak at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbing him more than a dozen times before being subdued by onlookers.

The “Satanic Verses” author was left blinded in one eye. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded.

Matar has 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 edict, calling for Rushdie’s death. A separate trial on the federal charges — terrorism transcending national boundaries, 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.