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In this OK Supreme Court Case Update:
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Washington County Court Holding Up Case by Slow-Walking Simple Records Request
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City Council Gave OKEQ Anything Goes Agreement for 2023 Drag Show: If Court Can Stonewall, Opposition Voices Will be Muzzled
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Highfalutin Hypocrisy & the Elitist Campaign to Mislead Citizens: Fictitious Second Agreement Declaring No Drag Will Take Place
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Everett Piper: Incrementalism, Intersectionalism or Elitism?
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Councilmember Dorsey Confirms: No Second Agreement Stopping Public Drag Ever Existed
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Late Announcement of Bartlesville Pride 2023: Event Set for September 9th, Schedule of Events Withheld
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Is Washington County Court Delaying OK Supreme Court to Keep Drag Protesters Away from Bartlesville Pride 2023?
Things are once again heating up in Bartlesville as Oklahomans for Equality (OKEQ) just announced the date for its upcoming pride celebration. Last year’s event in Bartlesville sparked significant pushback from citizens concerned with perverse, public drag shows in the presence of children.
The wave of citizen outrage about the nature of last year’s drag performances in Bartlesville’s Unity Square prompted a counter offensive from OKEQ activists that resulted in the granting of a highly suspect personal protective order (PPO) against a key protestor in the fight against the sexualization of children.
The V1SUT Vantage has been following closely as activists from a Tulsa-based non-profit, with assistance from two Washington County District Court judges and a highly conflicted Bartlesville Police Department, misused a protective order to silence the most vocal opposition to lewd, public drag performances in Bartlesville’s public spaces.
The two highest ranking board members of Oklahomans for Equality’s (OKEQ) Bartlesville chapter, a lesbian couple from Bartlesville, were granted a highly restrictive PPO against street preacher Richard Penkoski, complete with a full gag order, based on his use of Biblical scripture and despite him having no relationship with either petitioner. Oklahoma law requires a romantic, familial or residential relationship between petitioner and defendant in order to justify a PPO.
Penkoski and his Warriors for Christ ministries have repeatedly built sizable social media followings, despite significant censorship by the tech giants. His messaging, while labeled by many as controversial, consistently advocates for the protection of childhood innocence.
The PPO against Penkoski threatens core freedoms of speech and religion for all Oklahomans. Penkoski appealed the order and The Rutherford Institute stepped in to support the defense of his right to preach and to free speech. The Oklahoma Supreme Court promptly accepted the case which has attracted considerable coverage by national media outlets.
From previous reporting by The V1SUT Vantage:
Washington County Court Holding Up Case by Slow-Walking Simple Records Request
Richard Penkoski’s appeal request (petition in error) related to the protective order in place against him was received by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on March 20, 2023. On the same day, the Washington County District Court received a “Designation of Record” notice detailing the case records from the district court related to the original PPO case to be included within the higher court’s review, as listed by Penkoski’s attorney Richard D. White, Jr.
The designation of record provided by White is not complicated, involving only the inclusion of existing court documents related to the original protective order granted under Judge Russell C. Vaclaw and subsequent continuation order under Judge Linda Thomas. Even the transcript of the hearing extending the order, the largest document related to this case, was indicated as having already been previously prepared and filed.
All parties and the Oklahoma Supreme Court have been waiting more than 100 days for the Washington County District Court to fulfill the Designation of Record filing. Either Washington County Court Clerk Jill Spitzer has been too busy to pull this particular case file or someone has a reason to wish for the delay of this review by the state’s highest court.
During a previous request for the hearing transcript related to this case, this publication was referred by Spitzer to Jean Davis (Deputy Court Clerk/Civil Clerk) who identified herself as the person handling all protective orders for Washington County.
Is Spitzer or Davis (or perhaps both) holding up the records request? If so, why and at whose direction? The Washington County Court is mandated to fulfill the designation of record by August 15th (6 months from the final PPO order against Penkoski). It appears the actors and activists within this district court will be using all of the time they possibly can to complete this simple task.
City Council Gave OKEQ Anything Goes Agreement for 2023 Drag Show: If Court Can Stonewall, Opposition Voices Will be Muzzled
Following the release of video footage exposing the nature of the drag performances at OKEQ’s 2022 Bartlesville event, thousands of citizens signed a petition requesting a ban on all adult-oriented entertainment in the town’s public spaces.
Despite the vocal opposition of city attorney Jess Kane, the city council voted to draft an ordinance that addressed the citizens’ concerns.
In April, at the direction of the city attorney and despite an overflowing crowd in opposition, the Bartlesville City Council overrode its previous vote by approving a one-year agreement to allow OKEQ to host drag queen shows of unrestricted content within Bartlesville’s indoor, public venues with no limits on the age of attendees. The agreement was negotiated by and strongly recommended to the council by city attorney Jess Kane.
The decision prompted a citizen-led recall effort to remove the three councilmembers who voted to approve the agreement: Mayor Dale Copeland, Vice Mayor Jim Curd Jr, and Loren Roszel.
The agreement expressly states OKEQ’s plans to again hold a pride event in Bartlesville during 2023.
Highfalutin Hypocrisy & the Elitist Campaign to Mislead Citizens: Fictitious Second Agreement Declaring No Drag Will Take Place
Following the council’s approval of the overwhelmingly unpopular agreement and the subsequent campaign to remove Copeland, Curd and Roszel from the city council, both social media and citizen sources repeated news that a second agreement had been approved between OKEQ and the city that would eliminate drag shows in Bartlesville during their 2023 pride event. Despite considerable effort, this publication was not able to confirm those assertions.
The most overt communication within this seemingly coordinated campaign aimed at convincing the public that drag had been cancelled in Bartlesville came from Dr. Everett Piper. Piper is the former president of Bartlesville’s Oklahoma Wesleyan University and author of Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth.
On April 24th, this publication requested comment from Piper, as a recognizable resident in the area, concerning the town’s current fight to protect its community standards amid tone-deaf city leadership. Piper never responded to the request for interview but wasted no time in publicly coming to the defense of city attorney Jess Kane and the three councilmen who voted to allow unrestricted drag queen performances for children.
Despite his website tagline stating “When any culture starts calling good evil and evil good, Truth is the only rebellion left”, Piper’s Facebook statement failed to call out the evil of grown men, dressed as women, parading provocatively before children. Equally concerning is his use of “LGBTQIA+” within the post which signifies his belief that humans can actually change their gender and lends credence to the bizarre assumption that genders and sexualities should be respected as infinite in variation.
The rebranding of pedophiles as MAPS (Minor Attracted Persons) is openly connected to the group’s growing identification as part of the ‘+’ within the ‘LGBTQIA+’ acronym. No longer hiding in the shadows of the distain they deserve, freshly relabeled pedophiles now proudly fly their flag next to the ‘LGBTQIA+’ version Piper references and reinforces through public use of this ever-expanding and unscientific acronym.
Further, there was little truth and much inaccurate information within Piper’s post. Prior to lecturing the populous about the “wisdom of incrementalism”, Piper failed to confirm both the terms of the city’s actual agreement with OKEQ and the non-existence of a second agreement ending public drag performances. It appears Piper’s desire to protect Bartlesville’s country club cabal outweighs the principles he has profited from espousing.
Most ironic was Piper’s reaction as the citizens of Bartlesville corrected his understanding of the situation. As a conservative commentator, Piper created a lucrative career in the spotlight by calling out the “snowflake generation” for its inability to tolerate criticism or admit when they are wrong. Piper censored his neighbors’ comments on Facebook for accurately informing him the city, led by Kane, had given full control of public drag shows in Bartlesville to the activists, thus putting children at further risk. It was all very genteel, of course, with no mention of his inaccuracies or apologies for misleading the public.
Councilmember Dorsey Confirms: No Second Agreement Stopping Public Drag Ever Existed
Unlike Everett Piper and Vice Mayor Jim Curd Jr., councilmember Trevor Dorsey responded to a request for comment related to any agreement/s between the city and OKEQ. Dorsey, who voted against the one-year agreement with OKEQ, confirms that no such second agreement eliminating drag performances from OKEQ’s local pride event has ever been presented to the city council.
The reports of ‘no drag in 2023’ appear to be purposeful propaganda that has misled much of the Bartlesville community into believing children will not be exposed to grown men gyrating in women’s lingerie within a publicly funded venue on September 9, 2023.
Everett Piper: Incrementalism, Intersectionalism or Elitism?
Everett Piper and Jess Kane appear to have used the same tactics as the DC elites: reframe any action bringing criticism as the opposite of what it really is. A new, mystery agreement stops all drag when the real agreement allows unfettered performances with children in attendance. Boldly, confidently and condescendingly lie to quiet the plebeians so the privileged class can proceed with what they so falsely know to be the better way.
In the ultimate example of what actual ‘intersectionality’ will do to a human, Piper embodies the collision of arrogances within academia and those who’ve tasted a hint of fame and fortune within the church or public conservativism that frequently results in pure elitism. The result is moral deterioration, misuse of power and influence, and a replacement of previous, more virtuous motivators with an overriding habit of protecting newfound fellow elites.
As for his attempt to educate Bartlesville about incrementalism, the much wiser plebes saw right through it. Does Piper actually believe the moral fabric of our society has been getting incrementally better with each conservative baby-step over recent years? The more realistic view recognizes the incremental degradation of longstanding taboos unraveling all that is good, innocent and worthy of protection in our communities. The miracle would be if even one like Piper or Kane ever humbled themselves publicly when outed as completely wrong. Don’t hold your breath, Bartlesville.
Late Announcement of Bartlesville Pride 2023: Event Set for September 9th, Schedule of Events Withheld
Despite an approved agreement with the city in hand since April, OKEQ released a cryptic save-the-date for their 2023 Bartlesville event months later than usual. The announcement withholds the event’s specific location and omits any reference to drag performances. However, this publication has confirmed the event will again take place in Bartlesville’s Unity Square.
Public protests at last year’s Bartlesville Pride were led by street preachers, including Richard Penkoski. While the protesters remained peaceful, direct efforts to infiltrate and provoke a conflict with the protesters was previously reported by The V1SUT Vantage. Local law enforcement practiced one-way policing, restricting only the protesters to a certain area while observing and taking no action when activist agitators directly and repeatedly engaged the group.
Perhaps OKEQ’s delay in announcing this year’s event date and efforts to mislead the public concerning the inclusion of all-ages drag shows through false talk of a second agreement were actually about giving those opposed little time to organize any lawful protest. OKEQ is not the only group dragging their feet, as the Washington County Court appears to wish Penkoski and others with opposing opinions would stay far from Bartlesville Pride 2023.
Is Washington County Court Delaying OK Supreme Court to Keep Drag Protesters Away from Bartlesville Pride 2023?
With the state’s highest court having quickly accepted Penkoski’s appeal of the PPO granted in favor of local activists, this case should’ve moved quickly. The Oklahoma Supreme Court could’ve diverted the case to a lower court in Tulsa or returned the case to Washington County for reconsideration, but they nearly immediately chose to retain and review the decision.
The permanent order against Penkoski, granted by Judge Thomas, includes the maximum term of five-years and a complete gag order that prohibits Penkoski from being within 500 feet of the petitioners or mentioning them on social media, despite anything they have or may say about him.
Effectively, the order prohibits the most vocal opposition to public drag performances in Bartlesville from protesting or speaking out against the event or its organizers. In addition, any others opposed to the sexualization of children at drag shows potentially face being served with an unwarranted PPO to silence their speech, should they dare to peacefully protest at Bartlesville Pride 2023. And now, this district court is delaying the potential overturning of the order by delaying documents to the OK Supreme Court.
Is the Washington County District Court slow or activist? You decide, Bartlesville.
