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.