Illinois revokes variations of Oct. 7 license plates due to 'hate speech'

The Illinois secretary of state revoked five residents’ license plates that reference the Oct. 7 attacks.

The office of Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, said the plates were revoked after being deemed “hate speech or fighting words,” as some believe the plates paid homage to Hamas’s attack on Israel last October. Some civil libertarians, however, believe the decision to remove the plates raises constitutional questions about the suppression of political expression.