The man accused of carrying out a stabbing attack against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie has entered a not-guilty plea in a New York court on charges of attempted murder and assault.
An attorney for Hadi Matar, 24, entered the plea on his behalf during an arraignment hearing. Matar appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask. His hands were cuffed in front of him.
Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was formally charged with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said in a statement Saturday. Matar was arraigned Friday night and remanded without bail, he said.
Matar is accused of attacking Rushdie on Friday as the author was being introduced at a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute.
Rushdie suffered serious injuries in the attack and remains hospitalized. Rushdie's agent said Friday night that the author is currently on a ventilator and cannot speak. He said Rushdie will likely lose an eye, adding that the nerves in his arm were "severed" and his liver was "stabbed and damaged."
"We are working closely with State Police, our local police agencies and federal law enforcement partners to fully develop the evidence," Schmidt said Saturday. "We have been in touch with our counterparts in the State of New Jersey where the attacker is from to share information and assist them in helping us to better understand the planning and preparation which preceded the attack so that we and the different agencies involved can determine what, if any, additional charges should be asserted."
Matar was born in the United States to Lebanese parents who emigrated from Yaroun, a border village in southern Lebanon, Mayor Ali Tehfe told The Associated Press.
His birth was a decade after the publishing of "The Satanic Verses" — Rushdie's 1988 novel that drew death threats from Iran's leader decades ago.
The motive for the attack was unclear, State Police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski said.
An official from Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah told Reuters on Saturday the group doesn't "know anything" about the suspect and decline comment.
A state trooper and a county sheriff's deputy were assigned to Rushdie's lecture, and state police said the trooper made the arrest. But after the attack, some longtime visitors to the center questioned why there wasn't tighter security for the event, given the decades of threats against Rushdie and a bounty on his head offering more than $3 million to anyone who killed him.
Rabbi Charles Savenor was among the roughly 2,500 people in the audience for Rushdie's appearance.
The assailant ran onto the platform "and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first you're like, 'What's going on?' And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten," Savenor said. He said the attack lasted about 20 seconds.
Dramatic video of the aftermath of the attack was posted on social media.