Officials at the Jaipur Literature Festival pulled plug on Salman Rushdie’s video conference right before the controversial author was about to go on.

The last minute decision to nix Rushdie’s speech came after organizers received multiple death threats and feared it would trigger violent riots, according to Reuters.

After the cancellation, Rushdie expressed his frustration on Twitter.

“#JLF Videolink cancellation: awful. Just did a long interview with @BDUTT for NDTV. I feel a lot better now I’ve had my say. I hope it airs soon,” tweeted the author.

He continued, “#JLF Threat of violence by Muslim groups stifled free speech today. In true democracy all get to speak, not just the ones makes threats.”

Concerns over Rushdie’s speech plagued the festival. “This is necessary to avoid harm,” said Ram Pratap Singh, who owns the hotel where the festival took place. Singh’s announcement was greeted with cheers and boos from hundreds of onlookers.

The video link cancellation was blow to Rushdie after the 65-year-old decided to not attend the festival in person due to assassination threats.

However, the British-Indian author isn’t new to controversy. In 1988, India banned Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.