California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel

Skip to comments.

Posted on 12/16/2024 7:32:52 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for an “unacceptable and disturbing” personalized truck license plate that the agency said displayed hate speech related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. But a relative of the vehicle's owner said the whole controversy was an unfortunate misunderstanding.

A photo posted on X by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism showed a license plate on a Tesla Cybertruck near Los Angeles that read “LOLOCT7.” LOL is an abbreviation for “laugh out loud.”

The group said the plate seemed to reference Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing hundreds of people and prompting an Israeli retaliation against Palestinians in Gaza.

But the son of the truck's owner told ABC 7 in Los Angeles that the personalized plate was not a reference to the Oct. 7 attack at all. He said it referred to the owner, who is a Filipino grandfather. “LOLO” means grandfather in Tagalog, “CT” refers to the Cybertruck, while 7 represents the owner’s seven children, according to the news station.

The DMV issued a statement Thursday, saying the department is “taking swift action to recall these shocking plates, and we will immediately strengthen our internal review process to ensure such an egregious oversight never happens again.”

A spokesperson for the DMV told the Los Angeles Times the license plate should not have passed the review process and, after it was flagged on social media, many people who alerted the department found it offensive.

“The use of hateful language is not only a clear violation of our policies but also a violation of our core values to proudly serve the public and ensure safe and welcoming roadways,” the DMV statement said.

(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson