Oklahoma Preacher Threatened With Jail After LGBTQ+ Rights Group Gets Restraining Order
- April 27, 2023
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An outspoken street preacher is appealing to the Oklahoma Supreme Court after he was slapped with a five-year restraining order that his attorneys say threatens him with jail time if he violates the order by speaking out against a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Rich Penkoski, a pastor who heads up the online organization Warriors for Christ and has protested drag shows for children nationwide, told Fox News Digital that he believes the restraining order is unconstitutional and could herald a legal precedent that could chill the speech of Christians and others. Penkoski said he was invited by a church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to preach outside a local Pride event last fall after other local churches failed to speak out against it.
Penkoski also posted a public photo of the same-sex wedding of Sheena Hayes and Morgan Lawrence-Hayes, who is the executive board president of the Bartlesville chapter of Oklahomans for Equality. In his post, Penkoski referenced Bible verses condemning homosexuality, including Romans 1:32 and Matthew 18:6.
In a police report filed by an officer with ties to Oklahomans for Equality in Bartlesville, the couple felt directly threatened and harassed by Penkoski's social media posts and sought a restraining order.
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