Parents of 'clock boy' Ahmed Mohamed sue right-wing pundit Glenn Beck for calling their son a terrorist
Ahmed Mohamed's father calls for retraction and unspecified damages
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The father of a Muslim boy wrongly arrested after taking a homemade clock into school has sued conservative commentator Glenn Beck and his local mayor for allegedly portraying the family as terrorists.
Mohamed Mohamed filed a defamation lawsuit in Dallas last week on behalf of himself and his 14-year-old son, Ahmed.
In September 2015, Ahmed, then 13, made headlines around the world after taking a handmade clock into his school in Dallas County, Texas, to show his engineering teacher.
It was later confiscated during an English lesson when the teacher wrongly believed it looked like a bomb and called the police.
Ahmed was subsequently taken out of class by the principal and questioned by five police officers before being taken to a juvenile detention centre to have his fingerprints taken.
He was then threatened with charges relating to making a hoax bomb, although they were later dropped.
Ahmed later told the Dallas Morning News he had not been allowed to call his parents during the questioning and was made to feel like he “wasn’t a human” but a “criminal”.
His father’s lawsuit demands a retraction by Mr Beck and the Mayor of Irving, Beth Van Duyne, a jury trial and unspecified damages relating to comments they made in the wake of the arrest.
The lawsuit alleges the Mohamed family were falsely accused of being terrorists by the pair.
In August, the family filed a lawsuit against his school over the arrest, demanding an official apology and $15m (£11.5m) in compensation.
Mr Mohamed alleged that his son’s civil rights were violated and the arrest was Islamophobia.
The suit cited a number of severe disciplinary actions against black students and a history of anti-Muslim feeling in Irving to support the allegations.
Ahmed was removed from the school after the incident.
The Independent has contacted Mr Beck and Ms Van Duyne for comment.
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments