Nevada DMV Recalls License Plate After Facebook Post Goes Viral

NEVADA – The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recalled a license plate that went viral on Facebook after receiving over 80,000 likes. The license plate read “Go back to California,” and belonged to Adam Steelmon, who had no issues with the DMV for two decades until last month.

Steelmon stated that he received a letter from the DMV about a week after the Facebook post, stating that his license plate was not appropriate and was being recalled. However, he claimed that he had received compliments on his license plate from local law enforcement and even from Texas. In the past 20 years, only one person had expressed their disapproval of the license plate.

According to Eli Rohl, the Public Information Officer for the Nevada DMV in Carson City, it only takes one complaint for a license plate to be reviewed by their special license committee. The committee meets every Monday to discuss reported license plates and decides which ones violate the statute or not. The statute states that license plates cannot express contempt, ridicule, or superiority of race, ethnic heritage, or gender. License plates also cannot contain any sexual, derogatory, or obscene content, nor can they reference drugs, drug paraphernalia, gangs, or make a defamatory reference to a person or group.

If a license plate is recalled, the owner can appeal the committee’s decision by taking the case to a judge who is distinctly separate from the DMV but still on their payroll. Steelmon is appealing the recall and will have his hearing on July 12. If the judge presiding over his administrative hearing decides that he has a better case, Steelmon will keep his plates.

Credits: Fox5Vegas