On The Front Lines
Victory: Oklahoma Supreme Court Vacates Protective Order Against Street Preacher Who Criticized Gay Marriage, Denounced Drag Show
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — In a 5-4 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has vacated a five-year protective order against street preacher Rich Penkoski, who used social media to express his moral concerns about a church that endorsed gay marriage and to expose a public drag queen performance in front of children.
In coming to Penkoski’s defense, The Rutherford Institute denounced the protective order as a clear violation of the street preacher’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion. Rutherford Institute attorneys also warned that the issuance of such restraining orders could be used to silence individuals whose religious views may be perceived as intolerant or hateful, and to penalize anyone who cites a Bible verse which causes offense or ignites fears despite not making any threat of physical harm.
“Religious individuals have a clear First Amendment right to publicly cite Bible verses that reflect their concerns about moral issues of the day without being accused of stalking, harassing, or terrorizing those who are offended by the sentiments,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “This case is a foreshadowing of the government’s efforts to insulate the populace from all things that might cause offense by criminalizing nonviolent First Amendment activities (speech, thought, and actions) that may be politically incorrect.”
In 2022, street preacher Rich Penkoski used social media to express his moral and religious concerns about a church that endorsed gay marriage and a public drag queen performance in front of children. In one of Penkoski’s posts, he shared the church’s public photo of a same-sex wedding involving leaders of an LGBTQ organization and quoted Bible verses describing God’s judgment of sin. In a second post, Penkoski criticized the church’s publicly shared photos of children celebrating Gay Pride Month. In a third post, Penkoski weighed in on a local effort to ban adult-oriented entertainment in public spaces. In refuting what he believed were false statements by one of the leaders of the LGBTQ group who told city council that no adult-oriented entertainment, obscenity, or sexually suggestive performances had occurred at a Gay Pride event, Penkoski posted a video clip of the LGBTQ leader’s public statement to city council along with a video and photos of a drag queen dancing in a sexually suggestive manner near children at the Pride event.
Although Penkoski never contacted, spoke to, tagged, named, or met the public figures leading the LGBTQ group, the trial court—based upon claims that the LGBTQ leaders felt terrorized and harassed by Penkoski’s social media posts on religious and political issues—imposed a five-year protective order against him. Under the terms of the court’s order, which Rutherford Institute attorneys condemned as chilling lawful First Amendment activities, Penkoski was subject to arrest and up to one year in jail for engaging in conduct that might cause his accusers to fear for their safety, which could broadly be interpreted to prevent him from citing similar Bible verses critical of the church’s or LGBTQ group’s activities. On appeal, the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that the trial court abused its discretion. The protective order is now set to be vacated.
Affiliate attorneys Joe M. Fears and Richard D. White, Jr. with Barber & Bartz represented Penkoski and helped advance the arguments in the appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.
Case History
April 13, 2023 • Court Threatens Street Preacher With Arrest for Using Bible Verses to Criticize Same-Sex Marriage, Denouncing Drag Show on Social Media
