Man injured in Boston Marathon bombing sues Glenn Beck for defamation

A Saudi student who was injured in the Boston Marathon bombing has filed a defamation lawsuit against conservative TV host Glenn Beck.

Abdulrahman Alharbi charges in court papers that Beck continued to name him as a suspect in the bombing after he was cleared by the FBI. Alharbi said he was questioned during his hospital stay and allowed agents to search his apartment.

Peter Haley, in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court on March 28, said Alharbi's reputation was "substantially and severely" hurt by Beck. While Beck originally picked up the story that Alharbi was a suspect from other news media, he continued to identify Alharbi "as a criminal who had funded the attacks," and to suggest a government cover-up after he was ruled out, Haley said.

The lawsuit also names The Blaze, the company that carries Beck's show, as a defendant.

After the attacks, which killed three people and injured scores more on April 15, 2013, amateur detectives and journalists scoured photos and videos posted online for clues. At least one other defamation lawsuit has been filed, by two men who have sued the New York Post for a front-page photograph calling them "Bag Men" because they were pictured wearing backpacks.

Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 20, a student born in the Russian North Caucasus, is awaiting trial for allegedly carrying out the bombing. His older brother, Tamerlan, was killed during a police chase last year.

[Boston Magazine]