Video Shows Fort Worth Cop Ticketing a Preacher for ‘Offensive’ Speech at Pride Event

A Fort Worth Police officer ticketed a preacher in late June, claiming the content of his speech was offensive. This week, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched a campaign. query incident to determine whether the officer violated the First Amendment.

widely circulated video A picture of the confrontation shows a police officer and a protester during the Trinity Pride Festival on June 27. “If someone is disturbed by your conversation, then we have a problem,” Officer Sara Stogner said.

“This is a constitutional violation of our rights,” responds street preacher and retired federal law enforcement officer David Grisham. The two continue to argue when Stogner says, “Okay, then I’ll write you the ticket and we’ll go from there.”

“Wait, are you going to ticket us for offensive speech?” the cameraman asks in disbelief. “Yes, absolutely,” the officer confidently replies.

Stogner goes on to claim that he could punish the two men for disorderly conduct “if someone complained that your language or what you said was offensive.”

But that’s not how the First Amendment works, according to legal experts. “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to shut down speech simply because it is ‘offensive,'” said Brennan VanderVeen, program counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “The government can restrict certain types of conduct or restrict noise above a certain volume,” he continued, but quoting someone because people are offended by the content of protected speech is “entirely something the First Amendment does not allow.”

Grisham was eventually cited for misusing a bullhorn during a protest and argued that the citation was not supported by the city’s noise ordinance. reports WFAA is an ABC News affiliate. Grisham’s civil rights lawyers announced On July 3, they had intentions to appeal the citation, arguing that Stogner failed to conduct a decibel check in accordance with the city’s noise ordinance and Texas rules that assume unreasonable noise exceeds 85, and instead cited Grisham for “peaceful and protected conversation.”

Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia in response to growing online backlash said On Monday, WFAA reported that its department has claimed responsibility and is now initiating department-wide First Amendment training. “We have retrained our command staff with refresher courses. We will train our sergeants. We will train our officers,” Garcia said. “We are not a perfect profession,” he continued, “and officers will make mistakes from time to time.” Garcia did not mention any ways in which Stogner would be held personally liable or accountable.

“Actively training police officers on First Amendment standards would be a positive step,” VanderVeen said, adding that “government officials’ ignorance of basic First Amendment standards is a persistent problem.”

The Justice Department is also apparently investigating the incident and has asked the Fort Worth city attorney for information that would help the agency decide whether an investigation is warranted. reports Fox News. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that all Americans are protected from unlawful restrictions on their expressive activities, regardless of the content or viewpoint of their speech.” wrote Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The City of Fort Worth, Texas, has 30 days to provide more information to the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department is right to ensure that Grisham’s freedom of expression is not violated, and doing so is consistent with the agency’s core mission. protect civil rights. But the move comes against the backdrop of allegations of First Amendment violations by the agency since President Donald Trump took office, including subpoenaing journalists, forcing social media companies to remove immigration officer tracking apps and trying to unmask anonymous online critics.

But for now, Americans can rest assured that the Justice Department can occasionally do the right things.

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