Celebrities are tweeting #IStandWithAhmed to show support for Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested earlier this week after his teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb.
The 14-year-old Texas high school student, who has shown a strong interest in robotics and a talent for engineering, proudly brought his invention into Irving MacArthur High for a class project on Monday. A suspicious English teacher, however, called the authorities, and Mohamed was arrested. He was handcuffed and taken to a juvenile detention center, where he says he was interrogated by police.
Officials say they now may charge Mohamed with building a “hoax bomb,” and even though the device really was just a clock and presented absolutely no danger to anyone, he has been suspended from school for three days. An interview the student gave to the Dallas Morning News about the incident is now going viral, and sparked the “#IStandWithAhmed” trend on Wednesday. Hundreds of people are showing support for the teen, and questioning whether he was only taken into custody because he happens to be Muslim.
Among those tweeting are Sophia Bush, who wrote, “When a kid who loves robotics builds a clock & wants to show his classmates, we should celebrate him. Not arrest him. #IStandWithAhmed.” Questlove more simply tweeted, “Nerds Unite. #IStandWithAhmed.” And Russell Simmons posted, “#IStandWithAhmed — stay strong little brother. you are a genius and we all support your incredible passion for innovation + technology.”
“That moment when school can’t tell the diff b/w a clock & a bomb but since the kid is brown, they arrest him just in case #IStandWithAhmedm,” remarked Shannon Woodward.Mara Wilson said of a widely-shared photo of Mohamed’s arrest, “The look on that poor kid’s face as he was cuffed.” Talib Kewli declared, “#IStandWithAhmed definitely.”
Hillary Clinton also wrote on Twitter, “Assumptions and fear don’t keep us safe — they hold us back. Ahmed, stay curious and keep building.” See video of Mohamed talking about his arrest below. TELL US: What do you think of the situation, and celebrities showing their support?
UPDATE: Police announced at a press conference later Wednesday that Mohamed will NOT be charged. It has not been decided, however, whether he will return to school Thursday. President Obama has now invited the 9th grader to meet with him. “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,” he tweeted.
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