Father of Muslim teen arrested for homemade clock sues Glenn Beck for defamation

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

8 years ago

Ahmed Mohamed shows the clock he built in a school pencil box to reporters after a news conference in Dallas, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. The family of Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested after bringing the homemade clock to school, and charged with having a hoax bomb, filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Texas school officials and others, saying they violated the 14-year-old boy’s civil rights. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Ahmed Mohamed, right, shows the clock he built in a school pencil box while standing with his father Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed after a news conference in Dallas, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. The family of Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested after bringing the homemade clock to school and charged with having a hoax bomb, filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Texas school officials and others, saying they violated the 14-year-old boy’s civil rights. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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FILE – In this Sept. 17, 2015 file photo, Ahmed Mohamed sits in a vehicle before leaving his family’s home in Irving, Texas. The family of Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested after a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb, filed a lawsuit Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, against Texas school officials saying they violated the boy’s civil rights. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

DALLAS — The father of a Muslim boy arrested after taking a homemade clock to his Dallas-area school has sued conservative commentator Glenn Beck and a Texas mayor alleging they falsely portrayed the family as terrorists.

Mohamed Mohamed filed the defamation lawsuit Sept. 21 in Dallas on behalf of himself and his 14-year-old son, Ahmed. The lawsuit also names Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne (dyn).

The lawsuit seeks a retraction, a jury trial and unspecified damages related to comments following the teen’s September 2015 arrest at school in Irving. A charge of having a hoax bomb was later dropped.

The lawsuit describes the Mohamed family as “peaceful Muslims” falsely accused of being terrorists and engaging in a jihad.

Messages left for comment from Beck and Van Duyne weren’t immediately returned Tuesday.