American Military News by Mike Stunson 11/27/2019
Shaun DeWaters took pride in being called an infidel while serving in the Iraq War, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says he cannot display the term on his license plate, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
DeWaters was required by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to turn in his personalized plate with the letters “INFDL.†Now, the Boone County man is suing the state’s Transportation Cabinet in federal court, claiming the cabinet is violating his free speech rights.
A year after DeWaters was honorably discharged from the Marines in June 2006, he obtained the state’s Iraq Marine veteran plate. He had the plate for more than 12 years until he bought a new car this fall, the lawsuit said.
“The term Infidel has a totally other meaning to me being a disabled Marine Corps combat veteran,†DeWaters explained, according to the lawsuit. “It has been well documented in the media and literature that the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan called American troops infidels. We actually took it as a badge of honor that our enemy had given us this nickname.â€
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/11/iraq-war-veteran-sues-ky-after-being-forced-to-turn-in-infdl-license-plate/