(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) The Fort Worth Police Department was under heavy fire from online critics after a viral video showed officers brazenly infringing on the First Amendment rights of a pair of Christian preachers protesting a “Pride” event.
In one viral video amplified by Libs of TikTok, Sgt. Sarah Stogner threatened to issue a citation to sidewalk evangelists Rich Penkoski and David Grisham.
🚨 UPDATE: This Fort Worth TX police officer is facing mass demands to be FIRED after she issued a citation warning to a Christian preacher for "OFFENSIVE SPEECH"
This is AMERICA, not Europe!
She straight up claimed: "If someone is offended by your talking, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"… pic.twitter.com/4KlKYbMlIr
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 9, 2026
According to social-media posts, the two preachers were using a bullhorn to share Bible verses but carried a decibel meter to ensure they did not violate local noise ordinances.
Nonetheless, Stogner said if the substance of their commentary crossed any lines, they would face punishment.
“If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem,” she said.
Grisham, a retired police officer himself, then pointed out that what she was threatening would violate the U.S. Constitution.
After Stogner persisted, he said, “I don’t CARE if they’re offended.”
Fort Worth police later acknowledged that Stogner had overstepped her bounds, as Harmeet Dhillon, the deputy attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, signaled that she was on the case.
Troubling. ✍🏽 Our @CivilRights team is on it. https://t.co/L78fWxCPam
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 10, 2026
“FWPD remains committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all individuals, regardless of the content or viewpoint of their speech,” the department said in a statement to Fox News.
“A video that has circulated online captures only a portion of the interactions between the officer and the individuals involved,” they added. “FWPD acknowledges that an officer involved in the incident made certain statements that were not accurate.”
They pledged to provide “refresher training” to current officers and additional First Amendment training to incoming officers
But other troubling videos surfaced that appeared to show a pattern of police harassment in the Texas city.
In one, officers threatened the same evangelists with a trespassing citation.
Another video posted by Libs of TikTok showed a third FWPD officer admitting that he would consider writing them a ticket for misgendering a transgender demonstrator, even while ignoring potentially indecent exposure from the parade participants.
IT GETS WORSE
Fort Worth police officer says that calling a biological male a "sir" is a "grey area" and that he would potentially ticket @wfcpreacher for "offending" a man pretending to be a woman.
The cop then says he WOULD NOT ticket the LGBTQ activists for offending the… https://t.co/1X0tgNE8g2 pic.twitter.com/SJHYgHGywE
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 9, 2026
Libs of TikTok also pointed out new information showing that the original officer, Sgt. Stogner, had similarly harassed Christian counter-demonstrators during a 2025 event, even threatening to arrest them for their “offensive” speech.
PATTERN OF DISCRIMINATION
The SAME female Fort Worth cop who recently threatened to ticket Christian preachers for "offensive" speech stopped other Christians from attending a Pride event in 2025
She also threatened potential arrests for using "offensive" speech.
This cop is… https://t.co/1X0tgNE8g2 pic.twitter.com/7nhZTuxjWi
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 9, 2026
Penkoski confirmed that it was a recurring them in the city’s policing.
“Police officers have been violating preachers’ 1st amendment rights for years,” he wrote. “This isn’t new, we just got it on video and they can’t walk it back or deny it.”
Police officers have been violating preachers' 1st amendment rights for years. This isn't new, we just got it on video and they can't walk it back or deny it. 🛑🎬
As a street preacher, it is not my job to coddle anyone or go soft on sin. People are dying and going to hell…
— Rich Penkoski (@WFCPreacher) July 9, 2026
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
