Street preacher threatened with jail time after citing Bible verses against LGBTQ

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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 in opposition 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.

"I've been preaching against this kind of stuff for years when it first started in libraries," he said of drag queen story time for children. "We've been telling people it's going to get worse if we don't do anything, and that's where we are."

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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, according to court documents reported by the Christian Post.

In his post, Penkoski referenced Bible verses condemning homosexuality, including Romans 1:32 – "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

The pastor also cited Matthew 18:6, which quotes Jesus saying that "whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

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, according to local outlet V1SUT. The report claimed he made references to bestiality during a sermon at the Pride event, which he denies.

In February, Washington County District Court Judge Linda Thomas granted the couple a five-year protective order against Penkoski after they claimed they felt unsafe in Bartlesville because of the pastor, according to the Rutherford Institute.

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