DMV to Iraq veteran: "ICUHAJI" vanity plate encourages violence

CHESAPEAKE, Va. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles says an Iraq war veteran's personalized license plate encourages violence and is vulgar.

Sean Bujno's plate reads: "ICUHAJI," which can be read to state: "I See You, Haji." Some Arab-Americans object to that phrase.

A circuit court judge ruled last November that the DMV couldn't deny the Chesapeake man's license on the basis that it denigrated individuals of a particular nationality.

In a letter sent to Bujno by the DMV, the agency signaled the battle over the plate might not be over.

Following the November ruling, Andrew Meyer, a Richmond attorney who was half of the team that argued the case for Bujno, told CBS Richmond affiliate WTVR-TV that his client wasn't taking the low road with the plate.

He said Bujno got to know the culture in Iraq and was saying, "I see you, brother."

But even if he wasn't, Meyer said, the state had no right to stifle that type of free speech.