wasn\u2019t a science project<\/a>.\u00a0 There was no programming involved, no rewiring, Ahmed just took an ordinary consumer clock, gutted it, and put it in a pencil case, something frequently used as a bomb casing. \u00a0He then took it to school, unsolicited. \u00a0When confronted about the clock, he gave no information that could de-escalate the situation.<\/p>\nMake no mistake.\u00a0 Creating a device that looks like a bomb, with intention of it looking like a bomb, and bringing it into a school, or any public building or area, is a crime.\u00a0 Even if it isn\u2019t actually a real bomb.\u00a0 In these tense times where terrorists bomb public events and children shoot down their classmates in school, it is all the more important to realize this. \u00a0Creating a hoax just undermines the policies we have in place to prevent a future terrorist attack. \u00a0That’s what makes it a crime.<\/p>\n
We now have enough evidence to believe Ahmed and his father deliberately staged a hoax, and we will begin working with State and Local authorities to press criminal charges against them. \u00a0Muslims should not be profiled or assumed to be terrorists, yes.\u00a0 But neither are they above the law.\u00a0\u00a0We will hold them fully accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n
I deeply apologize to both the teachers and law enforcement in Irving for putting them in the spotlight for just doing their jobs correctly and professionally.\u00a0 In these times when cops and public officials nationwide are coming under increasing scrutiny, it is important to remember the public liability\u00a0they have.\u00a0 Teachers are responsible for our children\u2019s safety, day in, day out.\u00a0 Cops are responsible for all our safety.\u00a0 If something happens under their watch, we hold them responsible.<\/p>\n
It is important that we give them the benefit of the doubt, when events like this arise. \u00a0And it is important to honor the sacrifices they make, dedicating their lives to the public good.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve said before, it is this kind of service to America that really makes America great.<\/p>\n
Thank you and good night,<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fellow Americans, Last week, a high school student named Ahmed Mohammed was briefly arrested for bringing to school what some thought was a bomb. \u00a0I invited Ahmed to come to the White House because I thought it was an innocent science project, and he was being unfairly targeted because he is Muslim. Unfortunately, it turns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,358],"tags":[266,275,270,274,267,268,269,273,272,271],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":416,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions\/416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mrbiggs.net\/ron\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}