Plot thickens in story of Muslim 'clock' student, Obama faces political backlash
September 24, 2015 12:01 AM MST
Judge Andrew Napolitano discusses case of Ahmed Mohamed with Megyn Kelly.
On Tuesday, Fox News said that growing criticism of the narrative presented in the case of Ahmed Mohamed, the young Texas student who brought what he said was a homemade clock to school, could backfire on President Barack Obama and other high-power supporters. Since news broke of Mohamed's detention and questioning by police, a number of well-known figures, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have demonstrated support.
Plot thickens in story of Ahmed Mohamed, the Muslim student who brought a homemade device to school.
Photo by Ben Torres/Getty Images
But doubts about the story have grown from the very beginning. Others have also questioned the motives behind the incident that has sparked an international firestorm, Fox said. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, for example, tweeted a link to a YouTube video by electrical expert Thomas Talbot that raises serious questions about the validity of Mohamed's device.
"This man seems to know what he's talking about," Dawkins tweeted. "If he's right," Dawkins added, Mohamed did not build a clock at all, but took one clock out of its original case and placed it in another. Others looking at Mohamed's device came to the same conclusion. Until just recently, reports of those independent analyses have been suppressed by some outlets. The question now is, why? Some have suggested the whole incident was a fraud from the very beginning. Even Dawkins wondered why Mohamed would do such a thing.
Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban also expressed concerns about the family’s involvement during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher," Fox News said. He called Mohamed a "super smart kid,” but also noticed that his sister was listening to him speak with Ahmed and "giving him the answer” to questions Cuban posed to the young man. Maher, hardly a right-wing ideologue, said, "the people at the school thought it might be a bomb, perhaps because it looks exactly like a (expletive deleted) bomb.”
Judge Andrew Napolitano said the family could be open to legal action if it is determined the incident was a hoax. "It now appears as though this was a purposeful hoax," he told Megyn Kelly on Monday. “If the parents were involved now you have a fraud going on as you have funds going on for him right now."
But it seems the plot has thickened since Napolitano issued that statement. Speaking with talk show host Glenn Beck, Irving, Texas, Mayor Beth Van Duyne, said that her city’s police chief and officers, along with teachers and school administrators, have received death threats. Van Duyne made it clear that she blames Obama's tweet for the threats.
"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," Obama tweeted, using the @POTUS Twitter account. Ironically, the same account blocked 13-year-old C.J. Pearson, a young conservative well-known for his criticism of liberals, including Obama.
Moreover, Mohamed's sister, Eyman, said she was suspended from school in a bomb scare that took place in 2009. Eyman, Breitbart said, attended middle school in the same district as Ahmed. The school district, however, is unable to release any information because the family has not signed the appropriate paperwork.
The family has since pulled their children from the Irving independent school district. According to reports, Ahmed is set to meet with U.N. dignitaries and foreign leaders and his father wants to take him to the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
But, Napolitano said, the whole thing could backfire on Obama and other leaders if Mohamed's actions were a hoax. "If this was part of a purposeful stunt and if the parents were involved in this and if everybody from Mark Zuckerberg to President Obama fell for this, this is not good," he said. Napolitano's comments can be seen in the video above.
http://www.examiner.com/article/plot-thickens-story-of-muslim-clock-student-obama-faces-political-backlash
