The radical accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie blurted “Free Palestine” as he walked into the courtroom on Monday.
Hati Matar, the 26-year-old New Jersey man who tried to kill the writer in upstate New York in 2022, made the statement as he walked by reporters at the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, New York — but otherwise remained quiet.
Matar stormed a stage and stabbed Rushdie at least 10 times during a literary seminar at the local Chautauqua Institution in August 2022, leaving the 77-year-old novelist blind in one eye and suffering from nerve and liver damage.
He’s pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.
