The young tinkerer from Texas who was arrested previous year for bringing a homemade alarm clock to school – and was later invited to the White House and Google’s world headquarters – has filed a federal lawsuit against his former hometown, accusing it of violating his civil rights as part of a wider pattern of discrimination against African-American students.
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The Texas teenager who was led out of his high school in handcuffs almost a year ago has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. A district spokeswoman says the district would release a statement later on Monday.
Ahmed Mohamed was detained at Irving MacArthur High School last September when he brought a device to school and described it as a homemade clock made of old electronic parts. It also charges violations of his 4th Amendment rights after being interrogated by police and the school principal without the benefit of having his parents present.
The story – including pictures of the incident – quickly gained worldwide attention.
Mohamed was among President Obama’s guests at a White House event previous year featuring budding scientists, teachers and astronauts. President Obama joined the conversation when he tweeted “We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great”, the President said on Twitter.
The Mohameds subsequently chose to move to Qatar, citing death threats, harassment and a scholarship for Ahmed from the Gulf country.
Hutchison stated that Irving ISD (IISD) has a long history of discrimination, particularly towards black students, who they say are twice as likely to be suspended or disciplined than their white counterparts, she said citing ISD data.
The teen’s parents, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed and Muna Ibrahim, have not found work yet in Qatar, so the family of eight is living in government housing and on food vouchers.
In November, letters were sent on behalf of Ahmed’s family, demanding that the school district and city pay million for damages and offer written apologies to avoid a lawsuit. This summer, they returned to Irving, but they aren’t planning on staying.
“Irving ISD continues to deny violating the student’s rights and will respond to claims in accordance with court rules”, the district’s statement read.
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Ahmed Mohamed speaks to the press before his meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum on October 14, 2015. “I lost a lot of things in my life”, Ahmed told The Washington Post earlier this month. My dad doesn’t have a job anymore. I lost my home, I lost my creativity because before I used to love building things but now I can’t. I moved from my house to an apartment.
