Solution:
In the AccountController constructor that takes a userManager as a parameter add the following code:
UserManager.UserValidator = new UserValidator<ApplicationUser>(UserManager)
{ AllowOnlyAlphanumericUserNames = false };
In the AccountController constructor that takes a userManager as a parameter add the following code:
UserManager.UserValidator = new UserValidator<ApplicationUser>(UserManager)
{ AllowOnlyAlphanumericUserNames = false };