Twitchy reported back in September that Ahmed “Clock Kid” Mohamed and his father had filed a defamation suit on Ahmed’s behalf demanding apologies and retractions from several defendants, including Glenn Beck and The Blaze, Ben Shapiro, and Irving, Texas Mayor Beth Van Duyne.
Shapiro, for example, was accused of “making fun of both the President and Ahmed” during a Fox News appearance.
PJ Media reports that District Court Judge Maricela Moore on Monday dismissed the suit after a three-hour hearing, which, according to the American Freedom Law Center, included Mohamed’s lawyer spending a “painfully embarrassing 15 minutes flipping through reams of paper” to find evidence that any of the defendants had said anything false or defamatory.
Clock Boy Loses in Court, Dad's Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed https://t.co/R2NfcfXfZI #trending pic.twitter.com/38wuRoCGyQ
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) January 10, 2017
@PJMedia_com It's a real shame that blew up on them.
— John Self (@john_self1) January 10, 2017
@PJMedia_com Apparently the judge is smarter than BHO & new the whole thing was a scam from the beginning
— Gary Smith (@Matwork21) January 11, 2017
Legal proceedings might not be over just yet, though.
The family of Ahmed Mohamed, he of clock fame, will likely have to pay $200k+ to targets of frivolous libel suits https://t.co/Bns1yVNSE9
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) January 11, 2017
@lachlan @benshapiro #ClockBlocked
— Fox Sandwich (@FoxSandwich) January 11, 2017
@lachlan About time!
…
I'm so sorry… :/— Auli (@Auli89) January 11, 2017
@lachlan Don't bother calling your buddy Obama for a loan either kid, he ain't answering your calls anymore.
— FREE-Man (@BotchedLobotomy) January 11, 2017
Ken White of the blogging collective known as Popehat says that Mohamed’s family is about to feel the impact of Texas’ vigorous anti-SLAPP statute, meant to discourage frivolous lawsuits:
The court has now issued orders granting the motions and invited these defendants to submit affidavits documenting their attorney fees for recovery. I’m going to estimate that those fees from these defendants will total between $200,000 and $300,000. Mohamed’s only consolation is that the court refused to make the findings necessary to pile separate monetary sanctions on top of the attorney fees.
That’s a shame.
Reacting to the news, defendant Glenn Beck said Tuesday, “We reported it, and we reported it accurately on this program. And yesterday, the judge threw that case out,” Beck said.
Scroll down to hear “Glenn Beck Program” co-host Pat Gray celebrate their legal victory in song, if you dare.
Pat’s Clock Boy Edition of the Happy Days Are Here Again https://t.co/Rl0bBwRtjD pic.twitter.com/168guFGz8C
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) January 11, 2017
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Related:
'There's a shocker': Family of Ahmed 'clock kid' Mohamed 'demands' $15 million from Irving, Texas https://t.co/3QxpWb1eJA
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 23, 2015
