A Hawaii MAGA supporter has sued the state for repeatedly trying to revoke his FCKBLM license plate.
Edward Odquina, 48, drives through the streets of Honolulu in a red Pontiac Firebird wearing a license plate that stands for “F**k Black Lives Matter.”
The city of Honolulu approved the plates in January 2021. Seven months later, the city fought to revoke its vanity plates, arguing that they were issued “in error” and the abbreviated expletive violates the rule against “publicly offensive” plates.
“Your personalized special license plate has been determined to be publicly offensive due to an implicit expletive in the first three letter combinations on the license plate,” said a letter to Odquina, which can be viewed at the San Francisco Gate.
The Honolulu Permit Administration Office has threatened vehicle subpoenas, penalties and vehicle impoundment.
The plates should be returned by August 2021 or the vehicle would be considered illegal.
Edward Odquina, 48, drives through the streets of Honolulu in a red Pontiac Firebird wearing a license plate that stands for “F**k Black Lives Matter.”
Odquina (pictured in red) then sued the city to have his number plates revoked on several occasions. The city of Honolulu countered and won as a judge ruled that Odquina did not have a constitutional right to profanity. He has appealed the decision, although his license plates were reportedly stolen on December 26
“Furthermore, you may not re-register your vehicle in the City and County of Honolulu until the recalled license plate is delivered,” the letter said.
In June 2022, the city threatened legal action against Odquina, which he continued to ignore until September when he launched his own lawsuit against the city.
The Hawaiian claims his First Amendment rights are being violated, but the city countered, saying the license plates were “wrongly” issued because the supervisor who issued the license plates didn’t know what BLM stood for.
When the manager asked what it meant over the phone, Odquina reportedly said it was an acronym for his company.
Odquina has two businesses that follow the acronym, but both were filed after the license plates were issued. Film Consulting Krav MAGA Bloomberg LLC was filed August 13, 2021, and Fight Communism and Knucklehead B**ch Liberal Marxists was filed September 22, 2021, according to the San Francisco Gate.
However, before he even had a chance to put the plates on his car or submit his charitable causes to the Department of Commerce, his plates were tagged by a representative when he went to collect the plates.
“It didn’t matter what he said what it stood for because ‘FCK’ is an abbreviation for a swear word and it’s not allowed,” the representative testified, according to the San Francisco Gate.
Despite having the license plate marked, the agent’s supervisor issued the license plate because they feared “Odquina might become aggressive or out of control,” according to court documents.
“He would rather have the license plate issued and then call it back” so that he could “deal with Mr. Odquina directly afterwards, rather than becoming aggressive towards Satellite City Hall staff,” the documents said.
However, Odquina argues in his own lawsuit that although his “messages contain strong, personal messages that others may find offensive,” the “First Amendment” protects messages that are strong and personal and that others might find offensive. ‘
Two months after the Hawaiian filed his lawsuit, a judge ruled in favor of the city, stating that “government speech is not subject to First Amendment review” and that he had no constitutional right to profanity.
Odquina has appealed the decision.
He also claimed that someone wearing an FBI shirt stole his Pontiac on December 26, but there is no evidence that an actual FBI agent touched his car. A police report was filed with the Honolulu Police Department and the car was later found abandoned with no license plates, according to the San Francisco Gate.
The police are still investigating the incident.
Despite the missing number plates, Odquina continues the legal battle.
If he wins the appeal and the plates are reclaimed, he could get the plates once all the legal matters are settled.