The West Front of U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 2026.
Tom Brenner
Getty Images
The Justice Department is weighing whether to launch an investigation into the Fort Worth Police Department’s handling of an event at Trinity Pride Fest in June that prompted the department to give officers a refresher on First Amendment rights.
On June 27, Fort Worth PD officers cited a person for disorderly conduct after street preachers were speaking into bullhorns near Trinity Pride in Fort Worth’s Near Southside neighborhood.
Videos posted on Facebook and X show the street preachers speaking with police officers when one of the preachers asks if someone can be cited for misgendering a transgender person.
“We’re talking gray area right now,” an officer responds. “I don’t believe I would cite that for offensive language.”
In another video, posted on X, an officer is speaking with two street preachers. “Are you really going to ticket us for offensive speech?” one of the street preachers asks the officer in the video.
“Yes, absolutely,” the officer says before saying, “it’s called disorderly conduct.”
EXCLUSIVE 🚨 Fort Worth, Texas – On June 27, 2026, at Trinity Pride Fest in Fort Worth, Texas, street preachers Richard Penkoski and David Grisham were subjected to multiple violations of their First Amendment rights while attempting to preach on public property.
Upon arrival,… pic.twitter.com/o5ROC5t48r
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) June 28, 2026
The department confirmed to the Star-Telegram on July 2 that officers would be receiving a refresher on the First Amendment.
On July 10, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, posted about the incident on X.
“Troubling,” Dhillon wrote. “Our @CivilRights team is on it.”
Now, the Justice Department has sent a letter to the Fort Worth City Attorney.
The letter calls for the city to submit records detailing FWPD’s First Amendment policy, training materials, accountability records, which will be used to decide if the Civil Rights Division will “take further former action.”
“Government actors cannot discriminate against viewpoints or restrict peaceful free speech just because it may be offensive,” a statement accompanying the letter reads.
Fort Worth police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the city of Fort Worth said that the City Attorney’s office is working with the police department to address the DOJ’s request.
Government actors cannot discriminate against viewpoints or restrict peaceful free speech just because it may be offensive to some. Under this administration, the @CivilRights Division will defend free speech, as protected by the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/R2DVR8Ig68
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 14, 2026
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 1:07 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Emily Holshouser is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.