Salman Rushdie attacker charged with supporting Hezbollah

Matar rushed the stage at a book festival while the Indian-born British-American writer was giving a speech, stabbing Rushdie in the face, neck, arm, and abdomen a total of 14 times. Doctors initially didn’t believe he would survive and the attack left him blind in one eye after weeks of hospitalisation.

The event moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded.

Matar recently rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have reduced his time in prison.

His lawyer told the BBC that his client plans to plead not guilty to the new charges. He has been held without bail since the attack.

The state and federal cases will proceed separately to trial. Jury selection for the state trial is set for Oct. 15.

Rushdie’s latest book, "Knife: Meditations on an Attempted Murder," released in April, deals with the attack.