Congressional leaders are asking Department of Justice to investigate the detention and arrest of Ahmed Mohamed, the teenager who was arrested after teachers thought his homemade clock resembled a bomb.
In a letter to Attorney General Lorretta Lynch, Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley), Representative Keith Ellison, and Representative Andre Carson urged Lynch to look at any discriminatory practices that might have been a factor in Mohamed’s arrest.
“Profiling and mistreatment of an individual based on presumed or actual faith or ethnicity has no place in the World, let alone in the United States of America,” Honda wrote in the letter, which was signed by 29 members of Congress.
The letter goes on to say that Mohamed was denied his civil rights when his requests to speak to his father were rejected by police at MacArthur High School and later at the juvenile detention center where he was held.
In Texas, a child is entitled to be accompanied by a parent or guardian during a police interrogation or questioning.
“His arrest should serve as a wake-up call for everyone to step back and reflect on our fears and our rushes to judgment,
said Carson.
“No matter what their background, our children do not deserve to face the suspicion that so many of us have faced.”
U.S. & World
In addition to congressional leaders, Mohamed has also received the support of leaders in the tech industry since news of his arrest broke.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg invited the young teen to visit the company headquarters, and, earlier this week, Mohamed attended the Google Science Fair in the Bay Area where he met Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
His next stop appears to be the White House, and it appears he’s taking his clock with him.
“I cant wait to get my clock back & take it to the #WhiteHouse,” Mohamed tweeted Tuesday evening. “@BarackObama the invite is an honor, looking forward to meeting you!”
