Man Who Was Denied 'IMGOD' License Plate Awarded $151K

For more than a dozen years, Bennie Hart drove around Ohio with his personalized license plate reading "IMGOD." Then, in 2016, he moved to Kentucky. The state denied him the plate, saying it broke rules barring "obscene, vulgar, or in bad taste" messages, WAVE reports. A legal battle was launched, which Hart won in November 2019—and last week came another victory for him. A judge ordered the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to reimburse Hart $151,206 in attorney fees and court costs, Fox 19 reports.

Hart, who was granted the license plate back in November after the court ruled his first amendment rights had been violated, explains to Fox 19 his reasoning behind the plate: "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." (Meanwhile, in California, a man won his battle to get a license plate the DMV originally claimed was racist.)