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

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.

BYCole BlakeFeb 22, 20201.7K Views

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.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1229825404711497728

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.

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Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.