Nevada DMV Tries to Revoke ‘Go Back to California’ License Plate, Owner Appeals

A Nevada driver’s license plate has been recalled after officials say it received a complaint because it “defamed” people from California.

Officials recalled the plate reading “GOBK2CA” (for “Go back to California”) after a complaint was issued, DMV spokesman Eli Rohl told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday.

Breitbart News reported in April that California lost about half a million residents from the time of the Chinese coronavirus epidemic to the middle of 2022.

On Friday, AZ Family shared an image of the plate that went viral online before becoming the subject of the recall:

The portion of the Nevada Administrative Code that is being applied in the case cites making a defamatory reference to an individual or group of people.

In an email to the Review-Journal, Rohl explained:

In this case, the defamed group is Californians. Mr. Steelmon’s plate is not unique in this; we regularly turn down plates that share the same messages. If we’ve been rejecting applications for other ‘back to California’ plates, then it’s not an equal application of the law to receive a complaint about this plate and neglect to take action on it.

Meanwhile, Adam Steelmon claims he has had the plate on his vehicle for 20 years, but the state never raised an issue over it, Insider reported Sunday.

“Local law enforcement have pulled me over to tell me they liked my license plate. Texas has pulled me over. In 20 years, I’ve had one person say well I don’t think your license plates are very appropriate,” he said.

Steelmon plans to appeal the decision before an Administrative Law Judge, who will decide if the recall stands or falls.

“If he doesn’t like the AL judge’s decision, he can appeal it through the District court all the way through the Nevada Supreme Court,” Rohl noted.

A similar instance happened in February 2022 when the state of Alabama decided to recall a man’s “Let’s Go Brandon” license plate because it was deemed “objectionable,” according to Breitbart News.

“Someone at Montgomery, I’m assuming, doesn’t like it, and now they’re throwing a fit,” Oneonta Gun store owner Nathan Kirk said of the state government.