ACLU joins lawsuit against Virginia DMV in license plate dispute over free speech

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The ACLU of Virginia joined the lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday after the department revoked a local man's personalized license plate, leading to a dispute over free speech.

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the ACLU filed the opening brief in its lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit after Virginia resident Curtis Whateley's license plate was reportedly revoked by the DMV.

In 2023, Whateley applied for and received a personalized license plate with the character combination "FTP&ATF" from the DMV. He drove with the plate for over a year.

According to the ACLU, an anonymous citizen complained about his license plate and, as a result, the DMV recalled it and "refused to allow him to continue using the message."

Per court records, Whateley said the meaning behind the letters "FTP" is "F--- the Police", while "ATF" is the initialism for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Whateley filed a lawsuit in federal district court, claiming that the department's recall violated his First Amendment right to free speech.

“More Virginians have personalized their license plates than residents of any other state,” said ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Heilman in a Sept. 3 release from the ACLU. “That makes it especially crucial that the Court of Appeals reach the conclusion that other courts have reached time and again: vanity plates constitute private speech, protected by the First Amendment.”

The court allegedly dismissed Whateley's claim and determined that all personalized messages placed by more than 900,000 drivers in Virginia were "not private speech, but actually the speech of the government."

The ACLU said the district court found that the state could take legal action over Whateley's license plate. As of Sept. 2, Whateley's appeal said that the district court has denied him his First Amendment right.

According to the release, the Commissioner of the Virginia DMV is required to file their opposition by Thursday, Oct. 2.

8News reached out to the Virginia DMV for comment, but has not heard back as of the time of reporting.