Jurors in the trial of Hadi Matar, 27, on Monday heard from staffers at the arts institution where Rushdie was set to give a speech in August 2022, when authorities say the Fairview, New Jersey man attacked the author on stage and stabbed him more than a dozen times.

Hadi Matar, 27, of Fairview, New Jersey, is charged with attempted murder and assault and could face a total of 32 years behind bars.

The trial of a man accused of stabbing renowned British Indian author Salman Rushdie on a New York stage in 2022 goes to court Monday for opening statements in his attempted murder and assault trial.

After more than two and a half years, the trial of a New Jersey man accused of attempting to murder a world-renowned author officially began. Monday was opening statements for the trial of 27-year-old Hadi Matar,

The criminal trial of the man accused of attempting to murder author Salman Rushdie began with prosecutors saying Hadi Matar was on a mission when he rushed to attack Rushdie, stabbing him multiple times in 2022.

Hadi Matar, who is on trial for the knife attack against the British author, has also been accused of supporting terrorism and attempting to carry out a fatwa calling for Rushdie's assassination.

The trial of Hadi Matar, 27, accused of stabbing famed author Salman Rushdie during his speaking engagement at the Chautauqua Institution in August of 2022, begins Monday with statements.

Rushdie had been about to speak at a public event in August 2022 when he was attacked on stage and stabbed more than a dozen times.

Rushdie, who was raised in a Muslim Kashmiri family, went into hiding under the protection of British police in 1989 after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader,