A Facebook account linked to the suspect by law enforcement cited by NBC News had posted images of Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike in 2020, as well as Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued Rushdie’s 1989 fatwa, as well as his successor Ayatollah Khamenei. .
The account was taken down on Friday night.
There are no definitive links to the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but initial intelligence assessment indicated it was sympathetic to the Iranian government group, an official told NBC.
The British author has lived in the shadow of a fatwa imposed 33 years ago following the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which many Muslims consider blasphemous.
Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 called for Rushdie’s death, while in 2012 an Iranian religious foundation increased the bounty on Rushdie’s head to $3.3 million ( £2.7 million).
“Matar is a devout Muslim who spoke of goodness”
Officers at Mr Matar’s home were seen speaking to a woman believed to be his sister, but the family declined to speak to the media.
Neighbors on the tree-lined street of single-family homes described a quiet family that moved in several years ago. Some said they believed the Matar were originally from Lebanon.
Wilbur Iza said the neighborhood was not particularly close-knit and was quite ethnically mixed, with residents moving in and out of the area often.