Ahmed Mohamed's family is asking Texas officials for $15 million and an apology for clock arrest
The family of Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old boy who was arrested in September after bringing a homemade clock to school, is asking for $15 million in damages and an apology from city and school officials in Irving, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Charges that Mohamed's clock was a hoax bomb were dropped after Mohamed was handcuffed and suspended from Irving MacArthur High School, but a letter from the family's attorney alleges that afterward, officials "sought to cover its mistakes with a media campaign that further alienated the child at the center of this maelstrom."
Mohamed and his family have said they plan to move to Qatar, partially due to threats of violence they've seen online and the fact that their address was made public.
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If the money — $10 million from the city and $5 million from the school — and apologies don't come within 60 days, the attorney wrote that the Mohameds will file a civil suit. Officials told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram they'll review the information.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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