State moves to revoke license plate with Muslim slur
State officials were scrambling Monday to figure out how they issued a personalized license plate with a slur against Muslims.
A photo taken recently in the St. Cloud area and posted on social media shows a pickup truck with a plate that reads “FMUSLMS.”
Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon issued a statement calling the plate “offensive and distasteful” and saying it should have never been issued.
He said the department is in the process of revoking and taking possession of the plates.
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“The Department of Public Safety apologizes for this error,” Gordon said.
Gov. Mark Dayton said that he was “appalled” that the state issued the offensive plate. He said the person who requested it should be ashamed.
“That prejudice has no place in Minnesota,” Dayton said.
Dayton also instructed his public safety commissioner to review agency procedures to make sure it never happens again.
The plates were issued last June, according to DPS. The application, which received Department of Vehicle Services review, was processed at a deputy registrar’s office in Foley, Minn.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations said his organization is asking the state for tighter oversight of personalized plates.