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Glenn Beck Sued By Boston Bombing Victim

by Caitlin Mahon

On Friday, Saudi Arabian college student Abdulrahman Alharbi sued conservative commentator Glenn Beck and Beck's network, TheBlaze, for slander and defamation. Alharbi was injured in the Boston Marathon bombing and was questioned by authorities, but cleared of having anything to do with the attack. Now, Alharbi, 20, says his reputation was ruined after Beck and his network continued to implicate him as a suspect, calling him "the money man" behind the bombing.

During a radio broadcast, Beck said Alharbi was a "very bad, bad, bad man," and alleged that the U.S. government already knows that Alharbi is a "proven terrorist." Beck implored the U.S. government to "expose" him: ”We know who this Saudi national is… We know who this man is and, listen to me carefully, we know he is a very bad, bad, bad man.”

And, a few days later: “While the media continues to look at what the causes were [behind] these two guys, there are, at this hour, three people involved," Beck announced, implicating Alharbi as one of them.

The lawsuit, filed by Alharbi with the U.S. District Court in Boston and written by lawyer Peter Haley, states:

Alharbi, like many others, was questioned by federal authorities investigating the events of that day. ... Beck repeatedly and falsely identified Mr. Alharbi as an active participant, repeatedly questioned the motives of federal officials in failing to pursue or detain Alharbi and repeatedly and falsely accused Mr. Alharbi of being a criminal who had funded the attacks. ... Alharbi has received numerous messages, internet postings and other communications based on Beck's false statements accusing him of being a murderer, child killer and terrorist.

Alharbi is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.

This isn't the first defamation lawsuit following the Boston Marathon bombing. Two men were tagged as "Bag Men" for having bags on their back during the bombings. As authorities were still searching for the bombers, the "Bag Men" were featured on the New York Post's front cover, and the two are now suing.

You can read the suit against Beck below.