The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is seeking information from the City of Fort Worth to determine whether to launch a civil rights investigation into the Fort Worth Police Department. The inquiry follows publicly posted videos that appeared to show officers restricting Christian street preachers' speech based on its content during a Pride festival.
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to Fort Worth City Attorney Hon. Leann D. Guzman requesting cooperation in determining if an investigation is warranted. The letter stated that the division is committed to ensuring all Americans are protected from unlawful restrictions on expressive activity, regardless of the content or viewpoint of their speech. It also noted that government actors may not engage in viewpoint discrimination or restrict peaceful expressive conduct simply because the speech may be unpopular, offensive, or controversial.
"The Supreme Court long has held that the First Amendment prohibits government discrimination against speech based on its message, including discrimination tied to the specific motivating ideology or the opinion or perspective of the speaker," Dhillon wrote in the letter.
Viral videos from a June 27 incident at Trinity Pride Fest showed officers interacting with Christian street preachers Rich Penkoski and David Grisham. The Fort Worth Police Department acknowledged that an officer made "certain statements that were not accurate" during an encounter with a preacher. However, the department maintained that a citation issued stemmed from the alleged use of a bullhorn in violation of the city's noise ordinance, not the content of the preacher's speech.
In one video, a Fort Worth police officer appeared to state that calling a biological male a "sir" is a "gray area" and that individuals could be ticketed for "offensive" language. In another video, a female officer told a preacher, "If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem," and when asked if they would be ticketed for "offensive" speech, she responded, "Yes, absolutely," calling it disorderly conduct.
Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia told WFAA about the incident, "The biggest issue I think that I have is just the conversations and the way that we were describing what is lawful, what is not lawful." He added, "When we're right, we're right. And when we're wrong, we're wrong. And there certainly was a better way to have that communication, and we were wrong in the manner of which we communicated that. Certainly, we're going to take accountability for it." Garcia also stated that the department is undergoing First Amendment rights training.
The DOJ has given the city 30 days to provide records to help determine if further action is needed. These records include the police department's First Amendment policies, training materials, records of citizen complaints alleging violations of protected speech since 2015, documents related to the enforcement of a consent decree involving Grisham, and any additional information demonstrating how the department intends to protect constitutionally protected expression.
Dhillon stated in a social media post regarding the letter, "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."