Obama, Facebook, Twitter support teen arrested for bringing homemade clock to school


The case against a Texas teenager who was led out of his high school in handcuffs after his teachers mistook a homemade clock for a bomb has been closed, and the story has taken a few positive twists.

The teen, Ahmed Mohamed, is getting support from high-powered names in government and technology.

Mohamed was removed Monday from MacArthur High School after he showed off an electronic clock to his first-period engineering teacher, KXAS reported.

The problem arose when the clock started to ring in his second-period class. He said he showed his teacher the invention after class, and she said it looked like a bomb and kept the clock.

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Later in the day, the principal and a police officer removed Mohamed from class. He was questioned and his belongings were searched. Mohamed claims that the principal threatened to expel him if he didn't make a written statement, The Dallas Morning News reported.

>>Read the school district's statement

After his story went viral, police cleared Mohamed of any wrongdoing, closing the case and announcing that they were not pressing charges.

But even before that decision was announced, President Barack Obama and others expressed their support for Mohamed.

A message of support was posted to Obama's Twitter account, inviting Mohamed and to bring his invention to the White House.

The president wasn't the only big name to throw his support behind Mohamed.

"The future belongs to people like Ahmed," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said.

Twitter also expressed support.

At the same time, the school's principal suspended Mohamed for three days, WFAA reported.

The Dallas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Mohamed was singled out because of his religious and racial identity, WFAA reported.

"I think this wouldn't even be a question if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed," Alia Salem of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. "He is an excited kid who is very bright and wants to share it with his teachers."