Man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie rejects plea deal involving terrorism charge

Associated Press

The man charged with stabbing author Salman Rushdie has rejected a plea deal that would have shortened his state prison term but exposed him to a federal terrorism-related charge. An attorney for 26-year-old Hadi Matar says he rejected the agreement during a court hearing Tuesday in Mayville, New York. Matar has been held without bail since the 2022 attack in which he is accused of stabbing Rushdie and blinding him in one eye as the acclaimed writer was onstage and about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. His trial is scheduled for later this year.