The Christian Post by Ian M. Giatti: A Texas police department says it plans to “look into” a viral video showing one of its officers warning a Christian street preaching group they could be cited for simply saying something offensive to others.
The encounter occurred June 27 at Trinity Pride Fest in Fort Worth, where police were caught on video threatening to arrest members of a street preaching team led by evangelist Rich Penkoski. According to the video, police blocked Penkoski and David Grisham from accessing the sidewalk upon their arrival at the event.
Grisham told officers about a lawsuit he filed in 2014 against the city of Fort Worth for a similar encounter, according to the video. An unidentified female officer responded, “I don’t care, you can file whatever lawsuit you want.”
As the street preaching group continued to question police about the warning while they were moved to an area outside police barricades, the female officer is heard saying, “If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem. … If they are offended by your speech, OK, I will write you a ticket and we’ll go from there.”
EXCLUSIVE ???? Fort Worth, Texas – On June 27, 2026, at Trinity Pride Fest in Fort Worth, Texas, street preachers Richard Penkoski and David Grisham were subjected to multiple violations of their First Amendment rights while attempting to preach on public property.
Upon arrival,… pic.twitter.com/o5ROC5t48r
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) June 28, 2026
In response, Penkoski asks, “Wait, you’re going to ticket us for offensive speech?”
“Yes, absolutely,” the officer responded, adding that it would qualify as disorderly conduct.
Both Grisham and Penkoski quickly responded “No” as Grisham argued that speech doesn’t qualify as conduct.
After some back and forth between the two men and the officer, Penkoski asks, “If anything is said that is offensive, you’re going to write a ticket?”
“If someone complains that what you’re saying or your language is offensive …” the officer responds before the video abruptly ends.
Grisham was ultimately issued a citation for “unreasonable noise,” but no further explanation was provided. The city of Fort Worth does have an “unreasonable noise” ordinance that is “intended to apply to, but is not limited to” noise linked to animals or construction work.
A Fort Worth PD spokesman on Monday provided The Christian Post with the following statement: “The Fort Worth Police Department is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all individuals, including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly, while also ensuring public safety and enforcing applicable laws and ordinances.
“We are aware of a video and allegations circulating [on] social media. We will need some time to look into this and will provide additional information once our review is complete.”
While Fort Worth PD did not publicly identify the female officer in the video, she appeared to be the same officer who prevented another Christian evangelist group from entering the Trinity Pride Fest in 2025. Video footage shared on YouTube last June shows a female officer with a similar voice and facial features telling members of the evangelist group Unprofitable Servants Ministries trying to enter the public event that “they don’t want you here.”
Penkoski, who runs the online organization Warriors for Christ and protests drag shows nationwide, told CP he was shocked when police threatened to ticket them for their speech.
“The female officer told us flat out that we would get a citation if we said anything offensive, so I wanted to clarify with another officer if that really was their position,” he said. “I was completely surprised when he said that there’s a possibility that I could be cited for calling [someone] a biological male …”
“As a veteran who was willing to die for his country, I never in a million years thought that this is the America we’d be living in right now,” he added.
The Trinity Pride Fest event — which was attended this year by several local churches, including St. Stephen Presbyterian and Broadway Baptist Church — stoked controversy in 2025 after drag performers reportedly accepted tips from children and displayed vulgar signage at the all-ages event.
Prophetic Link:
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.” Genesis 19:4
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