Free Republic

An online Christian preacher has been ordered by a Washington County judge in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to stay silent on social media for five years after he expressed his moral and religious concerns in posts about a church that endorses same-sex marriage and a public drag queen performance in front of children. A team of attorneys with The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, has stepped in to help Rich Penkoski. They're asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to overturn the five-year restraining order against him, denouncing it as excessive and a clear violation of the pastor's First Amendment rights to...

BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma -Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz campaigned all day in Oklahoma.The Texas senator made stops in Oklahoma City, Bartlesville and Tulsa, where he wrapped up his finial speech of the day at Union High School.Cruz had overflow crowds at all three stops Thursday, where he told Oklahoma voters they were going to be essential in his run for the White House.The room was packed, with people outside too late to get a seat.Representative Jim Bridenstine said Cruz is their best hope at electing someone to change things in Washington.Cruz met receptive crowds in Tulsa and Bartlesville, where supporters...

BARTLESVILLE, OK - To Protect and Serve... sadly, one of their own failed to be provided with sufficient protection from the elements to survive. Last Wednesday, a Bartlesville Police Department K9 died. The dog, a 2 yr-old Belgian Malinois named Copper, had been with the department for just 5 months before his tragic death. Copper lived with his handler, a Bartlesville Police officer - the man left Copper in his outdoor kennel for "a couple of hours" on Wednesday. When the handler returned home, the dog was dead on the slab of his kennel...slab? As in cement? In the heat...