Man Awarded $150,000 After Officials Deny His "I'M GOD" License Plate

BYCole Blake1.7K Views
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Kentucky, I'm God, $150,000
Thanks to the First Amendment, this Kentucky driver is able to use his "I'M GOD" license plate and was rewarded $150,000 by the officials who tried to stop him.

A United State district judge has awarded Ben "Bennie" Hart $150,000, paid out by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, to cover his legal fees after his request for an "IM GOD" license plate was denied, according to FOX 19.

Hart claims he had been using the "I'M GOD" license plate for more than a decade, but when he moved to Kenton County, Kentucky in 2016, he was told he couldn't use the plate anymore.

"I can prove I’m God. You can’t prove I’m not. Now, how can I prove I’m God? Well, there are six definitions for God in the American Heritage Dictionary, and number five is a very handsome man, and my wife says I’m a very handsome man, and nobody argues with my wife,” he told FOX 19.

Hart is an atheist who says the plate is his way of spreading a political and philosophical message that religion is open to interpretation. 

Commonwealth transportation officials sent Hart a letter saying his plate was “vulgar" and "obscene.” It also said that the words “IM ALLAH,” “IM BUDDAH,” or “IM SATAN” would also be denied for the same reasons.

The courts ruled in favor of Hart, saying that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet violated the First Amendment by attempting to stop him.


About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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