California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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 a relative of the vehicle’s owner said the whole controversy was an unfortunate misunderstanding.

A photo posted on Xby the watchdog group StopAntisemitism showed a license plate on a Tesla Cybertruck near Los Angeles that read “LOLOCT7.” LOL is an abbreviation for “laugh 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 ABC 7in 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 is a Filipino grandfather. “LOLO” means grandfather in Tagalog, “CT” refers to the Cybertruck, while 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 Timesthe license plate should not have passed the review process and, 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.

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