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'Clock Boy' Ahmed Mohamed And Family Ask For $15M And Official Apologies

by Sean Levinson

The family of "clock boy" Ahmed Mohamed is demanding $15 million in damages from the city of Irving, Texas and the Irving Independent School District.

According to Huffington Post, attorneys for the family of Ahmed, who was briefly arrested after a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb, sent letters to the city and the school district claiming the 14-year-old was persecuted due to "his race, national origin and religion."

The letters allege Ahmed was unlawfully interrogated, suspended for no reason and "defamed" in a media campaign orchestrated by officials trying to cover up their wrongful actions.

The letter to the city reportedly reads,

Ahmed never threatened anyone, never caused harm to anyone, and never intended to. The only one who was hurt that day was Ahmed, and the damages he suffered were not because of oversight or incompetence. The school and city officials involved knew what they needed to do to protect Ahmed's rights. They just decided not to do it.

The family is threatening a civil rights lawsuit if they do not receive $10 million from Irving, $5 million from the school district and numerous apologies, all within 60 days.

According to the letters, these written apologies are to come from the school district, Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne and Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd.

After the arrest, Van Duyne claimed Ahmed purposely got himself arrested to tarnish the city's reputation for the purpose of a "civilization jihad," The Dallas Morning News reports.

The letters go on to discuss how school officials threatened Ahmed with expulsion if he didn't admit to making a "hoax bomb" and pressured his family to release his school records.

Last month, Ahmed's family announced they would be moving to Qatar, where the teen would attend a youth science program.

However, the family's attorneys claim they moved out of fear for their lives after their home address in Irving, Texas was tweeted.

The letter states,

Ahmed fears for his physical safety after receiving many threatening emails. When they feel safe again, all of them want more than anything to come home, to Irving, Texas.

The Irving Independent School District told the Huffington Post its legal team will "respond as appropriate," while the city of Irving said it was "reviewing" the demands but had "nothing further to add."

Before leaving the country, Ahmed got to go to the White House and meet President Obama, who tweeted his support for the teen shortly after the arrest.

Citations: Ahmed Mohamed And Family Demand 15 Million In Damages And Apology From School District (Huffington Post), Letters demand 15 million say Irving officials worked to smear Ahmed Mohamed after clock arrest (The Dallas Morning News)