NEW YORK: A federal jury on Wednesday convicted novelist Salman Rushdie's assailant of "engaging in an act of terrorism" for the bloody August 2022 attack at a New York cultural center. Matar was also convicted of supporting the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, after investigators found materials from the organization at his home. "His brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism," DiGiacomo said. Matar told a reporter before his trials that he believed Rushdie had "attacked Islam." In 2026, Rushdie said violence is the tool of "the unscrupulous using the ignorant" to attack culture.