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Ahmed Mohamed. Photo courtesy of Star Telegraph.
Summary: A Dallas judge has dismissed Ahmed Mohamed’s defamation lawsuit against Glenn Beck.
This week, a Dallas judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit against popular conservative pundit Glenn Beck and his TV network, The Blaze. Ahmed Mohamed, also known as “Clock Boy,” was a Texas high school student whose life changed after he brought a homemade clock to school.
In 2015, Mohamed brought the infamous clock to his Irving high school, and his teacher mistook it for a bomb and reported him. The then freshman student was promptly put into handcuffs and detained. The story drew national attention, earning Mohamed the nickname “Clock Boy.” Conservatives stated that they thought Mohamed purposely brought the clock for attention, and liberals condemned the school for its alleged Islamophobia and racism.
On Monday, Judge Marciela Moore dismissed the defamation lawsuit against Beck, The Blaze, the Center for Security Policy, and the CSP’s vice president Jim Hanson. The Center for Security Policy is a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. According to Star Telegram, the lawsuit against Irving’s mayor, Ben Van Duyne, is remaining.
The defamation lawsuit was filed in September of last year, shortly after the incident. Mohamed’s family sued Beck after The Blaze aired a negative segment about Mohamed, claiming that he was being used as a “dog whistle” for Muslims to take a stand in the United States. Hanson and his company was sued because he had been on the record agreeing with Beck.
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“They wanted people to react, and they wanted to portray this kid as an innocent victim,” Hanson had said. “I think he was a pawn of his father.”
Fox 4 and political pundit Ben Ferguson were also sued for his anti-Clock Boy comments; but their part in the lawsuit was dismissed in December. All of the dismissed defendants were protected by Texas’ Anti-SLAPP statute, which was designed to protect free speech from litigation.
“Mr. Beck and TheBlaze are pleased at the Court’s faithful application of First Amendment principles pursuant to the Texas Citizen Participation Act, the very purpose of which is to protect freedom of speech by mandating the summary dismissal of unmeritorious defamation claims,” Beck’s attorney Michael J. Grygiel said to the Morning News.
Hanson released a statement on his company’s website on Tuesday.
“This ruling reaffirms our most fundamental liberty — the right to free expression — and punishes [Mohamed’s father] and his allies for attempting to suppress ideas they oppose,” Hanson said.
The Mohamed family is being represented by attorney Susan Hutchison. In addition to the defamation lawsuits, they also have a federal discrimination lawsuit pending against the City of Irving and the Irving School District.
The Mohamed family was unavailable for comment, according to The Star Telegraph.
Source: The Star Telegraph
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