[WDNY] Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, charged in connection with attempting to provide material support to Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organization; engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries; and providing material support to terrorists. According to the court documents and statements made by the government in court, between September 2020 and August 2022, Matar attempted to provide material support and resources to Hizballah. Matar did this by attempting to carry out a fatwa calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie, which Matar understood was endorsed by Hizballah. The indictment further alleges that Matar attempted to kill and did in fact assault Rushdie. Matar was motivated, in part, by a 2006 speech given by Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in which Nasrallah endorsed the fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, which was originally issued in 1989. If convicted, Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.