Congressman Mike Honda, Student Ahmed Mohamed Call for an End to Ethnic and Racial Profiling



Congressman Mike Honda, Student Ahmed Mohamed Call for an End to Ethnic and Racial Profiling

Congressman Mike Honda, Student Ahmed Mohamed Call for an End to Ethnic and Racial Profiling

United States House of Representatives

October 20, 2015

October 20, 2015

Congressman Mike Honda, Student Ahmed Mohamed Call for an End to Ethnic and Racial Profiling

Congressman Mike Honda, Student Ahmed Mohamed Call for an End to Ethnic and Racial Profiling

Oct 20, 2015 Press Release

Hold Press Conference to Highlight Honda’s Letter to AG Loretta Lynch Calling for Investigation into the Arrest of Ahmed Mohamed

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley) hosted a press conference with Ahmed Mohamed, the14-year-old student arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school. Last month, Honda sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Ahmed’s detention and arrest.

“It was an honor to stand beside Ahmed. He has shown true character in how he has taken a negative experience and used it to raise awareness on racial and ethnic profiling in our country. That’s why I called on the Attorney General to investigate the circumstances of his detention and arrest, so that we might find real solutions to ending these discriminatory practices,” said Congressman Honda. “Coming from my district in Silicon Valley, we know we are made better by our diversity – that it keeps us as the innovation and manufacturing capitol of the world.”

Ahmed Mohamed was arrested after he brought a homemade clock to school to show his teachers and was later accused of having a “hoax bomb.” In his letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch of the Department of Justice, Honda and his colleagues expressed concern that “Ahmed was denied his civil rights…. And refused the right to speak to his father.”

Honda’s letter was signed by Reps. André Carson (IN-07) and Ketih Ellison (MN-05) as well as 26 of their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives.

More information about the letter can be found here, including support from outside groups. The full text of the letter is available here.

Issues: Civil and Constitutional Rights, Education, Immigration, Science & Technology