Woman dragged out of Idaho town hall asks for $5 million in damages, 6 men charged
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Lawmakers face backlash over Elon Musk and DOGE during town halls
Lawmakers from around the country are facing tough questions and tense atmospheres at town hall events over their stances on DOGE.
Six men have been criminally charged in Idaho after an altercation at a Republican town hall ended in a woman being forcibly removed.
The Coeur d'Alene City Attorney's Office confirmed with USA TODAY on April 21 that it filed charges on April 16 against five people working with a security firm and another attendee over their roles in the Feb. 22 incident.
The arrests came after town halls across the country have become heated, as constituents from both parties expressed concern over President Donald Trump's swift and far-reaching staffing cuts. House Republicans were even advised to stop hosting town halls on account of the angry crowds.
Police reports indicate Teresa Borrenpohl had yelled out at an event hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee at the Coeur d'Alene High School several times before she was approached and asked to leave. She told the Idaho Capital Sun she was expressing displeasure at the meeting, and "screamed," admittedly "out of turn," right before the incident occurred.
On April 21, Borrenpohl filed a notice of a tort claim seeking $5 million in damages against several people involved in the incident.
'Town halls are intended to foster conversation and discourse across the aisle, which is why I am deeply alarmed that private security dragged me out of the public meeting for simply exercising my fundamental right of free speech,' Borrenpohl said in a statement announcing the claim.
A 'dumpster fire': Angry voters bash lawmakers over Trump and DOGE
Video: Plainclothes sheriff asked for her removal before she was dragged out
A police report outlines a video of an interaction at the center of the charges, taken by Laura Tenneson. Here's what the detective reported seeing:
A man approaches Boorenpohl, who was sitting several seats into a row of the auditorium, asking her to "get up or be arrested." Although the video shows he is wearing jeans, a black jacket and a cap, the report identified him as Sheriff Bob Norris of Kootenai County, where Coeur d'Alene is located. (The sheriff's office did not comment on Norris' actions but confirmed with USA TODAY that there were no other personnel present at the event.)
Norris asks her multiple times to leave, before grabbing her arm and pulling on her arm, as she says several times, "please don't touch me."
"You want pepper spray?" he asks.
Norris steps out of the aisle and appears to direct two other men in, though no explicit order could be heard. Those two men begin trying to remove Boorenpohl. She screams at Norris, asking him to confirm if they are deputies, to which he doesn't answer.
Two men, also in plainclothes without markers indicating they were security, take Borrenpohl by the arms and another by the feet. She ends up laying in the aisle on her stomach with one of the men kneeling over her back and another man standing nearby with zip ties for handcuffs.
Eventually, they drag her up the aisle by her arms. At one point her shirt comes up, exposing her midsection and bra, the report states.
Borrenpohl also admitted to biting one of the men during the struggle and was cited for battery, a police report states.
Six people charged in town hall incident
Police reports and the host of the event, Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, identified several of the suspects involved in removing Borrenpohl as members of a private security firm Lear Asset Management.
According to a statement from the KCRCC a few days after the incident, Lear volunteered security services without a contract, as they were unarmed. The organization also said the event was private and attendees were warned that disruptors would be asked to leave.
Five of the people charged by the city were with Lear Asset Management, which did not return USA TODAY's request for comment. The charges are:
Paul Trouette – four counts of battery, two counts of false imprisonment, one count of security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation
Alex Trouette IV – one count of security agent uniform violation and one count of security agent duties violation
Russell Dunne – two counts of battery and one count of false imprisonment, security agent uniform violation, security agent duties violation, and security agent license violation
Christofer Berg – one count of battery, false imprisonment, security agent uniform violation, and security agent duties violation
Jesse Jones – two counts of battery, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count of security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation
The sixth man, Michael Keller, was not affiliated with Lear Asset Management but was charged with battery in a separate incident. Police reports said he had an altercation with a woman who told police she was trying to get closer to Borrenpohl when Keller blocked and pushed her.
KCRCC did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but said in a Feb. 27 statement:
"The KCRCC acted wholly within our legal rights and Idaho law to ensure the peace, safety, and rights of those in attendance," it reads. "We remain committed to providing a platform for civil engagement and will not allow such disruptions to undermine public discourse."
The Idaho Republican Party later issued a statement in support of the county party, saying "The IDGOP reaffirms its commitment to free speech as a foundational value but it does not extend to violence or the suppression of other's voices."
Contributing: Riley Beggin
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
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