Father of Muslim boy arrested over clock sues for defamation

The homemade digital clock built by 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed and mistaken for a bomb by Irving school officials. (Irving police photo via AP)

DALLAS (AP) — 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.

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