Muslim teen handcuffed for homemade clock seeks $15M
IRVING, Texas -- Attorneys for the 14-year-old Muslim boy arrested after taking a homemade clock to his Dallas-area school say he was publicly mistreated and deserves $15 million.
A law firm representing Ahmed Mohamed sent letters Monday demanding $10 million from the city of Irving and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District. The letters also threaten lawsuits and seek written apologies.
Ahmed took his clock to school in September, and an educator thought it could be a bomb. Ahmed was arrested but never charged. He was also suspended from school.
The family accepted a foundation's offer to pay for Ahmed's education in Qatar and has since moved to the Persian Gulf country.
Messages left for Irving's city attorney and the district weren't immediately returned Monday.
Last month, Mohamed was among President Obama's guests at a White House event featuring budding scientists, teachers and astronauts.
Afterward, the president and Mohamed chatted briefly, in an encounter that capped an amazing odyssey. Mohamed called it a short but "very long journey in the experience of learning."
"We talked about Mars and 2030 and I talked to him about the generator that I'm making and how it could help people on Mars," Mohamed said of his conversation with the president.