CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Author Salman Rushdie is now blind in one eye after a brutal attack at the Chautauqua Institution in 2022.
Hadi Matar pleaded not guilty to state charges of attempted murder and assault for the attack.
But Matar rejected a plea deal in Chautauqua County Court on Tuesday. It would have required him to plead guilty to a federal charge of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
Buffalo's poet laureate emeritus Jillian Hanesworth was at the Chautauqua Institution for her first major lecture on the day of the attack. She was to follow Rushdie in a nearby amphitheater.
"I was kind of just pacing the outside, listening to him, going over my key points in my head and it just went left fast," she said. All I remember is seeing someone run onto the stage and it looked like they were punching him and I'm thinking like are they beating him up, like what is this and then you just start seeing blood "
Hanesworth recently won an Emmy for her work. Her lecture was going to be about violence and hate after what happened in Buffalo on May 14, 2022.
For years, Rushdie's life has been threatened because of his writings. Only to be stabbed multiple times on a stage at the Chautauqua Institution.
Hanesworth is impressed that he is back to work. In her words "it wasn't a knockout punch for him."
Hanesworth finally delivered her lecture the following year.
"It was such an amazing experience being there, but they were very mindful of what happened the last time I was there. They went out of their way to make sure I felt safe and comfortable," she said.
The incident was unfortunate, but Hanesworth said "sometimes it takes something bad to happen for us to relook at our policies and our procedures, but they adapted and I really appreciate their willingness to do so."
Matar's trial is scheduled to begin in September.
He's locked up at the Chautauqua County jail.