Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro won a decisive victory in a legal battle against the father of Ahmed “Clock Boy” Mohammed, the Muslim teenager from Texas who was arrested after brought some reassembled clock parts to school in a pencil case, and school official grew concerned because it looked like a bomb.
The boy’s father, Mohammed Mohammed, sued Shapiro and several other conservative commentators for defamation last year. Most of the lawsuits have since been thrown out on 1st Amendment grounds. The 162nd District Court in Texas dismissed Mohammed’s case against Shapiro, and ordered that Shapiro be compensated for his attorneys’ fees.
“Clock Boy case falls apart like a pencil box filled with clock parts,” Shaprio tweeted in celebration.
“This is an excellent day for free speech,” Shapiro told his website, the Daily Wire. “Using law as warfare is perhaps the most disgusting tactic of politically correct activists across the country, and we couldn’t be more excited to stand up against such frivolous use of our court system.”
The Mohammed family filed its lawsuits, including one against the Texas School District where he attended school, in August 2016. The cases, which legal experts have described as poorly-argued, claimed the Mohammeds were defamed and had their civil rights violated.
The family has relocated to Qatar, but not before accepting an invitation from President Obama to attend a science fair at the White House. “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great,” the former president wrote on Twitter.
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