© Irving Texas Police Department / Reuters A homemade clock made by Ahmed Mohamed, 14, is seen in an undated picture released by the Irving Texas Police Department September 16, 2015.
The family of a 14-year-old who was arrested in September for bringing a homemade clock to his Texas high school and then charged with having a "hoax bomb" has filed a federal lawsuit against school officials for violating his civil rights.
Ahmed Mohamed was arrested at his Irving, Texas, high school for
bringing a homemade digital clock made of a plastic pencil box, electric wires, and other hardware. He said he wanted to show the clock to his English teacher. A family attorney
said in November that Mohamed was
interrogated by seven adults for nearly 90 minutes and was not allowed to call his parents, a violation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Code. He was threatened with expulsion if he did not sign a confession saying he intended to bring a
"hoax bomb" to school.
Irving police eventually dropped the charges though Mohamed was still suspended for three days. He did not return to the school and
was forced to leave the United States upon receiving death threats. He and his family now live in Qatar.Now, Mohamed's family has sued the Irving Independent School District, the city of Irving, and MacArthur High School principal. The suit asks that a jury determine damages.
Comment: American society is strange. After a barrage of media commenting on Trump and his supporters leaning in the fascist direction, the anti-Trump demographic seems to have dusted off the old Brownshirts for a little old fashioned stormtrooping. See also: Man holds up Hillary sign at RNC, Trump sign at DNC - see what happens