California DMV Taking Some Heat Over a License Plate

'LOLOCT7' is seen as perceived mockery of Hamas attack; owner's family says it's unrelated
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 17, 2024 1:03 PM CST
California DMV Taking Some Heat Over a License Plate
Not the license plate in question.   (AP Photo/Judie Manusco)

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 as the AP reports, 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 "laughing 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 ABC7 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's a Filipino grandfather. "LOLO" means grandfather in Tagalog, "CT" refers to the Cybertruck, while the "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 shouldn't have passed the review process and that, 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. The DMV said the license plate owner will be notified about the recall of their license plate because of the language. The owner of the vehicle has the right to appeal the department's decision. (More license plates stories.)

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