Family of Texas teen arrested for bringing homemade clock to school sues district, principal

On Monday, the family of Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old from Texas who was arrested last year after he brought a homemade digital clock to school, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Irving, the Irving Independent School District, and Mohamed's school principal, saying the teenager's civil rights were violated.

Mohamed's clock was made of a plastic pencil box, electrical wire, and other items. He was charged with having a hoax bomb, and while that charge was later dropped, he was suspended for three days. The suit claims that Mohamed, who is Muslim, was arrested without probable cause and the victim of systemic discrimination by the school district and state board of education, which allegedly marginalize Muslims and other minority groups, The Associated Press reports.

Mohamed never went back to his suburban Dallas school, and instead moved to Qatar with his family after he was offered a scholarship to attend a private school in Doha. During a press conference Monday, Mohamed, who is visiting family and friends in the U.S., said his family left the country because they were threatened and didn't feel safe. The school district, which denies any wrongdoing, is currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over an alleged pattern of discrimination against minority students, AP reports. In November, the Ahmed family asked for $15 million from the city of Irving and the school district to avoid a lawsuit.

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