Salman Rushdie
Days before his alleged attack on the writer, Hadi Matar wrote a late-night email to his New Jersey gym.
In the wake of the incident, U.K. authorities have separately launched a probe into a dark online threat made against J.K. Rowling, who tweeted in support of her fellow author.
The author is able to speak again but remains hospitalized. Meanwhile, Hadi Matar, 24, has entered a not guilty plea on attempted murder and assault charges.
One media outlet applauded the man who stabbed Salman Rushdie, saying “the hand of the man who tore the neck of God's enemy must be kissed.”
The nerves in the writer’s arm were severed and his liver was damaged in the ambush allegedly carried out by a New Jersey man.
One former employee said leaders at the Chautauqua Institution thought heavy security measures “would ruin the friendly feel and openness of the institute.”
The shocking attack on the celebrated author, who has lived under a death sentence for decades, reminds us that free speech isn’t violence—it’s our only hope to avoid it.