Standard News

Hide Advertisement
  • Business
  • Culture
  • News
  • Technology
  • Trending
Site logo
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Muslim teen sues Texas school district after arrest over homemade clock

By Reuters 2 min read
Advertisement - Continue reading below
A homemade clock made by Ahmed Mohamed is seen in an undated picture released by the Irving Texas Police Department

By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The family of a Muslim boy, who was arrested last year after taking a homemade digital clock to a Dallas-area high school, sued the Texas school district and the city where he once lived on Monday, saying they violated the teenager’s civil rights.

Advertisement

The suit, filed in federal court on behalf of Ahmed Mohamed by his father, claims the Irving Independent School District and the city west of Dallas had discriminated against the teen because of his religion, which it said was a factor in his arrest.

The school district in a statement denied violating the student’s rights and said it could provide no further comment because the matter was in litigation.

The family has previously demanded $15 million from the city of Irving and the school district.

The 2015 arrest of Ahmed Mohamed, then a 14-year-old bespectacled ninth-grader who dabbled in robotics and attended high school in Irving, had ignited a social media firestorm.

Irving police accused him of making a hoax bomb.

“The only way to get justice is through money,” Mohamed told a news conference in Texas on Monday.

After Mohamed was seen in a NASA T-shirt in handcuffs, the Twitter hashtag #IStandWithAhmed trended globally, and the teenager was praised by Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, who said: “Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest.”

A few months after the incident, Ahmed and his family moved to Qatar after the teen has accepted an offer from the Qatar Foundation to study at its Young Innovators Program. The announcement of the move came a few hours after Ahmed visited the White House for an astronomy night hosted by President Barack Obama.

The teen, a U.S. citizen, returned to the United States a few weeks ago for summer vacation and plans to return soon to Qatar to attend a private school after receiving death threats in the United States.

“I lost my home, I lost my creativity. I used to love building things but now I can’t,” he said at the news conference. “I’ve lost my security.”

(Addtional reporting by Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC7715L-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2016binary_LYNXNPEC771RY-VIEWIMAGE

Advertisement - Continue reading below

U.S. lawmakers want moratorium on commercial flights to Cuba
News
Reuters 2 min read

U.S. lawmakers want moratorium on commercial flights to Cuba

Disney to post alligator warning signs after boy’s death
News
Reuters 3 min read

Disney to post alligator warning signs after boy’s death

Cleveland activists wary of city plans to process thousands of arrests
News
Reuters 3 min read

Cleveland activists wary of city plans to process thousands of arrests

Venice star-studded film fest set to open under heightened security
Entertainment
Reuters 3 min read

Venice star-studded film fest set to open under heightened security

This Supposedly Haunted Theater Will Make Your Skin Crawl
Entertainment
David Clarke 3 min read

This Supposedly Haunted Theater Will Make Your Skin Crawl

Average Travel Cost Statistics For 2023 According To Forbes Advisor
Travel
Ethan Blake 6 min read

Average Travel Cost Statistics For 2023 According To Forbes Advisor

Beyond the Crowds: Exploring Alternatives to the Most Overvisited Travel Destinations in 2023
Culture
tgreen 2 min read

Beyond the Crowds: Exploring Alternatives to the Most Overvisited Travel Destinations in 2023

California to lift severe mandatory water conservation rules
News
Reuters 2 min read

California to lift severe mandatory water conservation rules

Supreme court declines to revive apartheid claims against IBM, Ford
News
Reuters 2 min read

Supreme court declines to revive apartheid claims against IBM, Ford

Guns and memory of mass shooting collide at Texas campus
News
Reuters 4 min read

Guns and memory of mass shooting collide at Texas campus

load more Loading posts...

sidebar

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

sidebar-alt

  • About Us
  • Imprint
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • For Advertisers