A reporter for the Associated Press saw a man take the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin to assault the author of "Satanic Verses" the moment he took the stage.
The perpetrator was picked up or fell to the ground, and the man was subdued.
Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses, has been banned in Iran since 1988, with many Muslims considering it blasphemous.
A year later, the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa (decree) calling for the death of the author.
Iran has also offered a reward of more than $3 million for anyone who kills Rushdie.
More information to come.
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