Accused Rushdie Attacker Indicted, Pleads Not Guilty

Hadi Matar, the man accused in the attempted murder of British author Salman Rushdie, appears in court for a procedural hearing at Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, New York on August 18, 2022. - Matar has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges after being accused of stabbing British author Salman Rushdie multiple times on stage during a literary event at the Chautauqua Institution. The severely injured author is recovering and showing signs of his "feisty and defiant" self, family and friends said, after the shocking assault left him on a ventilator with multiple stab wounds on August 12, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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The man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie near Buffalo has pleaded not guilty to charges in an indictment unveiled earlier today.

24-year-old Hadi Matar of New Jersey is charged with 2nd-degree attempted murder and 2nd-degree assault.

Matar allegedly rushed the stage at Chautauqua Institution last Friday and repeatedly knifed Rushdie in the arm and eye.

In a video interview from jail, Hadi Matar told the New York Post he was surprised Rushdie survived.

Matar is due back in court on September 22nd.