‘Clock Boy’ Ahmed Mohamed’s Lawsuit Dismissed, Judge Says School Didn’t Discriminate Against Muslim Student
“Clock boy” Ahmed Mohamed will not be getting a big payday from his former school. In fact, he will not be receiving a single dime. A federal judge just threw out the discrimination lawsuit Mohamed’s father filed against the city of Irving, Texas and the district that had the teen arrested for bringing a bomb-like clock to MacArthur High School.
Ahmed Mohamed garnered international headlines in September 2015 for taking what his teacher feared was a bomb to school. Mohamed said the device was actually a homemade clock, but just how much of the clock Mohamed actually made himself still remains a heated topic of debate.
The female teacher told the Muslim student she would keep the bomb-like clock at her desk for the remainder of the school day. Before Mohamed could reclaim his device, he was arrested at MacArthur High School.
Ahmed Mohamed was taken to the police station, and like all crime suspects, he had his fingerprints and a mug shot taken. He was accused of making a “hoax bomb.” The charges were ultimately dropped, CBS DFW reports.
Mohamed Mohamed, the father of the teen now known to the world as clock boy, claims the Irving, Texas police officers used excessive force when removing Ahmed from his school chair.
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Judge dismisses ‘clock boy’ lawsuit saying the school didn’t discriminate against Ahmed Mohamed’s bombhttps://t.co/kGWae50zBL pic.twitter.com/cZJKD4RdT9— CC (@ChristiChat) May 19, 2017
According to the father, the law enforcement officers yanked the teenager up by his arms and pulled them so far behind his back that his right hand could touch the back of his neck. The elder Mohamed also claims his son’s civil rights and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by the Irving Independent School District and the city’s police officers. The federal judge did not agree and dismissed the entire discrimination case yesterday.
The clock boy lawsuit was seeking punitive damages, unspecified compensatory damages, and attorney fees. After the discrimination lawsuit was filed last year, the Texas school district staunchly denied the allegations being levied by Ahmed Mohamed’s family, the Daily Mail reports. Irving Independent School District officials also said the student willfully disobeyed an order by his teacher not to activate the bomb-like clock at school.
Prior to filing the Muslim discrimination lawsuit Ahmed Mohamed’s family reportedly demanded they be given $15 million in damages for the actions taken against the teenager. In the lawsuit just kicked out of court by the federal judge, the father of clock boy claimed the Irving school district had an “ugly history of race struggles” and alleged the entire state has a past filled with discriminatory actions against Muslims in both the Texas school curriculum and on campus.
Federal court throws out Irving ‘Clock Boy’ lawsuit https://t.co/cIHD9NMgM4 pic.twitter.com/FrH1RbZLbU
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) May 19, 2017
Susan Hutchison, Mohamed’s attorney, claims Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne and others, were libelous in the statements they made about the clock boy incident.
“These acts by the authorities show blatant disregard for the civil rights of this American,” Hutchinson said after the discrimination lawsuit was filed.
“Plaintiff does not allege any facts from which this court can reasonably infer that any IISD employee intentionally discriminated against Ahmed Mohamed based on his race or religion,” the judge stated in the lawsuit ruling.
The federal court judge also went on to state the Ahmed Mohamed discrimination lawsuit failed to identify any practice, custom, or policy that was allegedly the motivating factor behind the alleged violation of the Muslim teenager’s Fifth Amendment rights.
The lawsuit also did not prove any facts which could permit the federal judge to allow the lawsuit to continue against either the city or the school. The judge did not believe proof of discrimination based on Ahmed Mohamed’s race or religion was present in the case presented.
“Absent allegations of intentional discrimination, or allegations from which the court can reasonably infer intentional discrimination, plaintiff fails to allege an equal protection violation against the IISD.”
The family of Ahmed Mohamed has until June 1 to file an amended discrimination complaint against the city of Irving, Texas and the school district.
What do you think about the clock boy incident and the dismissal of the Muslim discrimination lawsuit?
[Featured Image by kamui29/Shutterstock]