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Video: Cop Who Promised to Ticket Preacher's Offensive Speech at 'Pride' Event Did Same Thing in Reported 2025 Footage

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A Fort Worth, Texas, police officer who tried to suppress two Christian street preachers’ constitutionally protected speech during a “pride” event last month is under a microscope again after footage showed her making similar threats last year.

The clip came after the Fort Worth Police Department announced that officers would be receiving additional training in “First Amendment activity,” according to the Dallas Express, a 5-year-old online news site.

The incident began making headlines after video was posted to the social media platform X by the Libs of TikTok account that showed Richard Penkoski and David Grisham, two Christian preachers whom a female police officer threatened to ticket during the June 27 event for “offensive speech.”

“If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem,” the officer told the men in the clip.

When one of the preachers said that this was a “constitutional violation of our rights,” the officer threatened to ticket the men for their speech.

“Wait, you’re gonna ticket us for offensive speech?” one of the preachers said.

“Yes, absolutely,” the police officer replied. “It’s called disorderly conduct.”

According to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram report from July 2, Grisham was indeed issued a disorderly conduct citation, although police said this was related to noise from a bullhorn.

“An individual outside of the festival grounds was using a bullhorn to amplify their voice,” police said in a statement, according to the report. “Business owners in the area complained that the amplified noise disrupted their operations and caused them to lose customers. FWPD officers advised the person that continued use of the device would constitute making an unreasonable noise in violation of the City’s Noise Ordinance.”

However, a second video has emerged of the same police officer stopping Christian preachers — reportedly at the Fort Worth “pride event” last year — for “offensive” speech not related to noise.

“You’re not allowed in the event,” she can be heard saying in the video.

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“Why not?” one of the preachers asked.

“Because you’re not here to support the event, you’re here to aggravate the situation,” she responded.

Combined, the two incidents seemed to cast doubt upon the Fort Worth Police Department’s contention that the intent was not to prevent the preachers from sharing their religious views at a public event, which would be a First Amendment violation.

“At no time did officers prevent any individuals from expressing their views,” the police said in a statement, according to the Star-Telegram. “Officers told the individuals they could continue exercising their rights without using an amplification device.”

Afterward, the statement claimed, the preachers “willingly ceased protesting after the bullhorn was seized as part of the enforcement action.”

According to Fox News, police also claimed the video was selectively edited.

“A video that has circulated online captures only a portion of the interactions between the officer and the individuals involved,” the statement declared.

However, it also stated that, “FWPD acknowledges that an officer involved in the incident made certain statements that were not accurate.”

Since it looks like there have been multiple instances of her trying to suppress Christian’s speech, should she be retrained or fired?

The city said it would “provide refresher training to Fort Worth Police Officers and new trainees on First Amendment protections and related legal issues for persons expressing free speech, protesters, and other similar activities,” according to Fox.

This came after another video of a separate officer telling preachers that calling a man who identified as a transgender woman “sir” was “a gray area” under the law.

The Fort Worth Police Department has not commented on the new footage. However, Libs of TikTok, which first posted it, reported the department had blocked it on X, then unblocked it.

The preachers involved in the original incident say they’re pursuing “a lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth for violating our rights.”

“Stay tuned,” they promised.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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