Security Very Much Present During Rushdie Talk in Westport

Salman Rushdie made a Westport audience laugh and think during a talk Thursday at Staples High School.

An article on WestportNow.com said the controversial author talked about and read excerpts from his latest novel “Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.”

Before the talk, Rushdie met with about 60 AP English literature students who had already read the book.

School officials took seriously some parent’s concerns that Rushdie’s presence could put the school in danger. Ayatolla Ruholla Khomeni called for the author’s assassination for writing his 1988 book “Satanic Verses.”

Westport police had bomb-sniffing dogs and a rooftop presence before and during the event. Police were stationed around the auditorium and nearby areas, WestportNow.com reported.

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Photo credit: Screenshot from Staples High School website.