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Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho woman forcibly dragged from GOP town hall seeks $5 million in damages
The Idaho woman who was forcibly dragged out of a local Republican town hall in February is seeking $5 million in damages. Teresa Borrenpohl was dragged from her seat and onto the floor by private security guards who did not identify themselves after disrupting a GOP town hall in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Feb. 22, according to video of the event and statements from officials. Borrenpohl filed a notice of tort claim on Monday with the Kootenai County Clerk, asserting that a group of men — which she says includes Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris — and a private security company hired for the event violated her constitutional rights. "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. Norris and the private security firm, LEAR Asset Management, did not immediately return requests for comment. The court filing comes several days after prosecutors said six men were charged with crimes in connection with the town hall. The Coeur d'Alene City Attorney's Office announced in a statement on April 17 that it had filed charges against six men involved in the event. Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Chistofer Berge and Jesse Jones were all charged with battery, false imprisonment, security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation, according to the attorney's office. Alex Trouette was charged with security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation, and Michael Keller was charged with battery, the statement said. It was not immediately clear whether any of the men had legal representation. NBC News' attempts to reach the Kootenai County office of the Idaho Public Defender were unsuccessful. The February town hall was hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. The committee, in a Facebook post at the time, stated that Borrenpohl "shouted down legislators with insults," thereby disrupting the town hall. She was eventually asked to leave. At the time, the chairman of the committee, Brent Regan, said Borrenpohl was removed by "licensed and bonded professional security" after interrupting the event at least seven times. He accused her of having a history of disrupting meetings. All of the town hall attendees were told that they would be removed if they did not "respect the rights of others," Regan said. According to a video of the incident, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris asked the woman to leave, but she refused. After attempting to remove Borrenpohl himself by pulling her arm, Norris instructed men wearing black clothing to remove her. Video shows Borrenpohl asking the men who they were, but they did not answer. She asked Norris if the men were deputies; he also did not reply. Norris was seen on the video shouting at Borrenpohl to leave as she accused the men of assaulting her. She was then physically dragged out of her seat and onto the floor. Coeur d'Alene Police Department Sgt. Jared Reneau told NBC News at the time that the police chief recommended revoking the city's license for LEAR Asset Management, the security company for which the men dressed in black worked. The company has since had its business license revoked for violating Coeur d'Alene City ordinances regarding security markings and identification, according to NBC News affiliate KTVB of Boise. After the incident, Borrenpohl told KTVB that she felt her First Amendment rights were taken from her in that moment. "I could have never imagined my right to free speech and my right to assemble could be stripped in such a violent way," the statement said. "Due to the sensitivity and shock of the matter, I am unable to speak on this situation immediately, but I will make my voice heard when the time is appropriate." This article was originally published on
NBC News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Idaho woman forcibly dragged from GOP town hall seeks $5 million in damages
The Idaho woman who was forcibly dragged out of a local Republican town hall in February is seeking $5 million in damages. Teresa Borrenpohl was dragged from her seat and onto the floor by private security guards who did not identify themselves after disrupting a GOP town hall in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Feb. 22, according to video of the event and statements from officials. Borrenpohl filed a notice of tort claim on Monday with the Kootenai County Clerk, asserting that a group of men — which she says includes Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris — and a private security company hired for the event violated her constitutional rights. "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. Norris and the private security firm, LEAR Asset Management, did not immediately return requests for comment. The court filing comes several days after prosecutors said six men were charged with crimes in connection with the town hall. The Coeur d'Alene City Attorney's Office announced in a statement on April 17 that it had filed charges against six men involved in the event. Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Chistofer Berge and Jesse Jones were all charged with battery, false imprisonment, security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation, according to the attorney's office. Alex Trouette was charged with security agent uniform violation and security agent duties violation, and Michael Keller was charged with battery, the statement said. It was not immediately clear whether any of the men had legal representation. NBC News' attempts to reach the Kootenai County office of the Idaho Public Defender were unsuccessful. The February town hall was hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. The committee, in a Facebook post at the time, stated that Borrenpohl "shouted down legislators with insults," thereby disrupting the town hall. She was eventually asked to leave. At the time, the chairman of the committee, Brent Regan, said Borrenpohl was removed by "licensed and bonded professional security" after interrupting the event at least seven times. He accused her of having a history of disrupting meetings. All of the town hall attendees were told that they would be removed if they did not "respect the rights of others," Regan said. According to a video of the incident, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris asked the woman to leave, but she refused. After attempting to remove Borrenpohl himself by pulling her arm, Norris instructed men wearing black clothing to remove her. Video shows Borrenpohl asking the men who they were, but they did not answer. She asked Norris if the men were deputies; he also did not reply. Norris was seen on the video shouting at Borrenpohl to leave as she accused the men of assaulting her. She was then physically dragged out of her seat and onto the floor. Coeur d'Alene Police Department Sgt. Jared Reneau told NBC News at the time that the police chief recommended revoking the city's license for LEAR Asset Management, the security company for which the men dressed in black worked. The company has since had its business license revoked for violating Coeur d'Alene City ordinances regarding security markings and identification, according to NBC News affiliate KTVB of Boise. After the incident, Borrenpohl told KTVB that she felt her First Amendment rights were taken from her in that moment. "I could have never imagined my right to free speech and my right to assemble could be stripped in such a violent way," the statement said. "Due to the sensitivity and shock of the matter, I am unable to speak on this situation immediately, but I will make my voice heard when the time is appropriate."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Unidentified Men Forcibly Remove Woman From GOP Town Hall in Idaho
A woman was forcibly removed from a Republican town hall meeting in northern Idaho on Saturday, February 22, after speaking out of turn in response to a legislator, footage shows. This footage filmed and posted to YouTube by Laura Tenneson shows security personnel asking the woman, Teresa Borrenpohl, to leave the town hall meeting in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Saturday. Borrenpohl told a local news outlet that she had 'admittedly' spoken out of turn, saying 'Phil Hart stole timber from public land,' prompting the two personnel to approach her. The footage shows Borrenpohl refusing to leave and repeatedly asking the men to identify themselves, which they do not. Borrenpohl also asks Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, dressed in plainclothes, to confirm that the two men are his deputies, which he does not respond to. The men can be seen dragging Borrenpohl from her chair and pinning her down on the floor while Norris films the incident. Borrenpohl is then dragged out of the auditorium. According to a local news report, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White confirmed that the two security officers seen in the footage worked for a private security firm called LEAR Asset Management. Town hall organizers and Norris said that they didn't know the security personnel in the video and don't know who hired them. City prosecutors dropped the charges against Borrenpohl, according to a news release issued by the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, local news reported. Credit: Laura Tenneson via Storyful Get up or be arrested, get this all on film. No, I'm not recognizing you. What would you like to do? So yes, we're going to get is not a negotiation. I'm. This is a town hall to disrupt. The reality is there's a whole bunch of great things that are happening. The problem is we got a bunch of rabble rousers who just won't allow it to be spoken. So you know my name is Robert Norris we're asking you to leave on video get up or be escorted out. don't touch me. You're going to be removed that we're struggling with. and not struggling with the consequences. I think what we've got right now is a situation where the fuck are you? Who are you? Where's your? Who the fuck are you? I don't. and you're you're not a sheriff. You're not a sheriff. If you touch me again, I will, I will call the police are actually in it. It's a fuck away from me. This isn't excuse me, Sheriff Norris. This is assaulting me. This man is assaulting me. This man is assaulting me. That's your deputy. No, don't fucking touch us. dummies. Who the fuck are you? That's the kill. Let's go. If you are the fuck are these guys. situation. We know the government has been mismanaging. Oh. are these guys? Just cooperate. It'll be 100 times. That's what they say to rape victims, you fucking refuse to identify yourselves. Who are you? But the problem is this they didn't come here to listen. They came here to interrupt. Isn't that what Elon is exposing in Washington DC? Don't he know that same type of disruption everywhere in our government. You have to identify yourself. Let me see. Where are your badges? Who are you and where are your badges? What's your badge number? I told you your mouth and you don't close your mouth. You'll have an opportunity to speak. Where are the badges are these people? I thought Republicans believed in free speech. Not when you're interrupting when somebody's speaking. That's what the problem is you'll get an opportunity to go to. There's no public comment. Get your hands are your badges? Who are you here. I'm in. I'm asking you to leave. I'm sure. You're assaulted. Both of you come on assaulted. Yeah Who are they? You're letting people assault. I need 2 more security officers, security officers in the back. I need 2 more security officers backstage right. Yeah Is your daughter here? Ladies and gentlemen, as soon as we get things under control, we will get back to hearing from the legislators. Would you like to hear. Thank you. Yeah Oh. Paul, are you in the house? Oh we go, I mean, I don't know what to do right. We thank you. Yeah. What I. OK, just like you. That's outside. I said I would come in and check. He has outside. Oh. Oh. She goes. OK.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho woman's removal from town hall garners national attention. Watch full video here
A legislative town hall in Coeur d'Alene has received scrutiny after an interrupting attendee was dragged from the event. Videos of the incident have gone viral. The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee held a Legislative Town Hall on Saturday afternoon at Coeur d'Alene High School. The committee described the event on Facebook as a 'great opportunity to meet your Idaho State Legislators and get updates on the 2025 Legislative Session.' Videos posted by attendees online showed Teresa Borrenpohl of Post Falls yelling during the event before being pulled from her seat, wrestled to the ground and dragged out. An video posted to Facebook shows the lead-up to the incident. A separate video posted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee shows its chairman Brent Regan warning the crowd that there is private security at the event and those who can't maintain decorum would be removed. Shortly before the confrontation with Borrenpohl begins, an onstage speaker can be heard in the video discussing an anti-abortion bill. 'Women are dying,' says one person. 'And doctors are leaving our state!' another shouts. The speaker, identified by the Coeur d'Alene Press as the event's emcee, Ed Bejarana, admonishes those speaking out. 'Folks who are just popping off with stupid remarks, you are not taking into account the people sitting next to you,' Bejarana says in the video. 'There's a bunch of people that came here to hear them.' 'Is this a town hall or a lecture?' Borrenpohl, who lost a 2024 election run for the Idaho House of Representatives District 5B, yells back. Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris, wearing a hat with the word 'sheriff' on it, can then be seen motioning for Borrenpohl to get up. 'Get up or be arrested,' Norris tells her. An eight-minute video posted to YouTube shows the full events of the incident after Borrenpohl was confronted by the sheriff. After some back and forth, Norris grabs Borrenpohl's arm. Norris repeatedly asks her to leave, and Borrenpohl repeatedly asks him not to touch her. At one point, Norris asks Borrenpohl if she wants him to use pepper spray. Norris eventually gestures to two plainclothes security guards and appears to give them instructions. Norris filmed the guards attempting to pick her up from her seat. Borrenpohl and others continuously ask the men who they are, whether they are members of law enforcement, and to see their badges. 'Is this your deputy?' Borrenpohl asks Norris in the video. 'Who the (expletive) are these men?' Norris and the men do not appear to answer questions about their identity, but Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White told the Coeur d'Alene Press that they were with private security firm LEAR Asset Management. Coeur d'Alene city code requires security agents to wear uniforms displaying the word 'security' on the front and back of their uniforms, the Press reported. The city revoked LEAR Asset Management's business license for violating the ordinance, according to Press. The men forcibly carry Borrenpohl out. A man in the background can be seen in the video holding zip ties, and photos show them being used on her. The video conflicts with statements later made by Norris to news outlets. The sheriff told KREM that he had walked away to escort another person out of the event and that Borrenpohl was already on the ground by the time he returned. He told the Press that he did not give the security guards any direction. The Press reported that police cited Borrenpohl for misdemeanor battery for biting one of the men, but the prosecuting attorney's office has moved to dismiss it after reviewing video.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Idaho woman forcibly removed from Kootenai County Republican town hall
Three employees of private security firm LEAR Asset Management dragged Post Falls resident Teresa Borrenpohl out of a town hall meeting in Coeur d'Alene on Feb. 22, 2025, for heckling Idaho legislators. (Courtesy of the Coeur d'Alene Press) COEUR d'ALENE — A legislative town hall organized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee devolved into chaos Saturday when unidentified, plainclothes security personnel dragged a Post Falls woman from the Coeur d'Alene High School auditorium for heckling legislators. Though the company that provided security for the event has been identified, town hall organizers and Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris have claimed no knowledge of the security personnel or who hired them. Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White confirmed Sunday that the men who dragged Teresa Borrenpohl from the meeting worked for the private security firm LEAR Asset Management. Reached by phone on Saturday and Sunday, the firm's owner, Hayden resident Paul Trouette, declined to comment. As the town hall got underway and legislators made their remarks, Borrenpohl said the audience cheered and jeered at turns. 'Nobody was telling people cheering to stop cheering, but any time there was a negative reaction, we were scolded,' she said. 'I felt comfortable expressing displeasure because people were very openly expressing their appreciation for the legislators there.' Borrenpohl said the turning point came when Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d'Alene, spoke about how he helps to take care of Idaho's public lands as co-chair of the Resources and Conservation Committee. 'I screamed — out of turn, admittedly — 'Phil Hart stole timber from public land,'' Borrenpohl said. 'That's when they seized on me.' In 2010, The Coeur d'Alene Press reported that Sen. Phil Hart, R-Kellogg, issued a $2,450 check to the state for the 1996 market value of logs he took from state school endowment land to build his home. Borrenpohl said she didn't recognize Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris at first when he approached her in the semidarkness of the auditorium because he was dressed in jeans and a baseball cap. 'I was really dumbfounded because he said, 'Do you want me to pepper spray you?'' she recalled. 'That was the first thing he said to me that I remember.' Footage from the event showed Norris take Borrenpohl's arm with both hands and make multiple attempts to pull her from her seat. Borrenpohl said that after she declined to leave, Norris turned to the unidentified men and said, 'Guys, get her.' On video, Borrenpohl can be seen repeatedly asking the men to identify themselves. They did not. She asked Norris if the men were his deputies, and he gave no answer. Kootenai County GOP officials said Saturday that they didn't know which company provided security for their event and told the Press to seek that information from the sheriff. 'Bob (Norris) was right there,' KCRCC chair Brent Regan said. 'Nothing was done without him being aware.' Norris denied knowledge of the event's security arrangements and said he didn't know the security personnel. Norris said his handling of Borrenpohl was in line with protocols that were set before the town hall began, though he did not explain what the protocols were or who had set them. '(Borrenpohl) was asked to leave,' he said Sunday. 'She was asked to leave.' With recordings of Norris and the security guards pulling on Borrenpohl circulating widely on social media, Norris said he's received death threats and he believes the incident is not being covered fairly. '(The security guards') reaction was to (Borrenpohl's) action,' Norris said. 'The reason why that occurred was because people came to disrupt.' White said it's not appropriate for law enforcement to forcefully remove a person from a town hall for speaking out of turn or shouting. 'I don't care what your message is, especially in an open town hall like this,' White said. 'We have to respect everybody's First Amendment rights, regardless of what side of the aisle you happen to sit on. I know there's some people up here who probably disagree with me and would like us to take action and maybe try to silence a voice that's in opposition to theirs at a town hall, but there's very little we can do with regard to First Amendment protections. We have to make sure people have the protections afforded them under the Constitution.' Mary Rosdahl attended the town hall and described watching the sheriff attempt to pull Borrenpohl from her seat, then beckon to the security personnel. Rosdahl, who is a nurse, said she stood nearby during the incident because she feared for Borrenpohl's safety. 'They came and took her by the arms and pulled her and then took her by her feet and pulled her into the aisle,' she said. 'They laid her face-down on the floor. Two of them were on top of her, holding her down, and then eventually they boosted her up on her feet and dragged her out the door. I was worried about their handling.' Borrenpohl said she remembers 'hands coming from everywhere' trying to haul her from her seat and pushing her to the ground. To her left, she said, she heard friends defending her while people across the aisle jeered at her and applauded the men who were attempting to remove her from the auditorium. As the men dragged her down the aisle, Borrenpohl lost her shoe, and at one point, her shirt nearly came off. 'It was really violent and really traumatic,' she said. 'They had grabbed my wrists. They contorted my body. They lifted me up and dropped me down. My only thought was to maintain my airway. They were forcing me down on the ground. I just wanted to make sure I could still breathe.' Borrenpohl said she bit one of the men who was dragging her from the auditorium. 'I didn't know if I was being detained by what I now knew to be the sheriff's office or if these were private hired guns,' she said. 'I was so confused, and I didn't know if I was being arrested by the sheriff's office or if I was being kidnapped.' White confirmed that Borrenpohl was cited and released for misdemeanor battery because of the bite, though he noted that the officers who responded to CHS didn't have access to the numerous video recordings that showed what happened before they arrived. 'Now that we are in receipt of several videos that show the majority of the event that we didn't have at the time, (the battery citation) will be under review by our prosecutor's office,' he said. On Monday, The Coeur d'Alene Press reported that city prosecutors will dismiss the misdemeanor battery citation. The city of Coeur d'Alene also revoked the security company's business license, The Press reported. 'The city prosecuting attorney's office has moved to dismiss the citation against Borrenpohl in the interest of justice,' the Coeur d'Alene Police Department said in a press release Monday. White said his officers declined the sheriff's request that Borrenpohl be arrested for trespassing. 'We respectfully informed the sheriff that, since this was an open to the public event, we are not going to arrest anyone for trespassing,' White said. 'That would be inappropriate.' Meanwhile, the city revoked the business license for LEAR Asset Management 'for violating Coeur d'Alene city ordinances regarding security agencies and agents,' The Press reported on Monday. Coeur d'Alene city code requires security agents to wear uniforms 'clearly marked' with the word 'security' in letters no less than 1 inch tall on the front and no less than four inches tall on the back. The security personnel at Saturday's town hall were in plainclothes, with no visible sign they were security. When the Coeur d'Alene City Council approved the uniform requirement last summer, Trouette testified against the change. 'Paul Trouette contacted me and told me they wouldn't be doing any security of that type in our city, and yet, here they are,' White said. 'As far as I know, (LEAR Asset Management has) a license, but not a license to perform activity such as this.' Norris said he was invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the town hall and remained onsite after doing so because of a recent threat against Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene. On Saturday morning, Coeur d'Alene police were investigating a threat against Redman's office that originated on social media. White said his agency only learned about the town hall because Redman mentioned it when they spoke with him about the threat. Coeur d'Alene police officers were in the parking lot at CHS during the town hall in case the Shoshone County resident who allegedly made the threat appeared, White said. When there was a disturbance in the auditorium, no one alerted the officers until after Borrenpohl had been removed. Norris said this was because it wasn't the agency's place to act. 'They don't have jurisdiction,' he said of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department. 'They would not have come into a private event held at the high school and the person who secures the location gets to set the protocols of what occurs.' White pushed back on Norris' comment. Coeur d'Alene High School is squarely within his agency's jurisdiction, he said, and his officers would've entered the building had they been called sooner. 'We would've stood by to make sure no one was in danger, while at the same time protecting people's First Amendment rights,' he said. Rosdahl, who regularly attends town halls and other political events, called Saturday's scene 'terrible' and said she's concerned the chaos will have a chilling effect on political speech in Kootenai County. 'It was a time for our legislators and the moderator to put forward their ideas about government, but there was no public feedback,' she said. 'They didn't want to hear what the community had to say. That was very clear.' Borrenpohl ran as a Democrat for a legislative seat in 2020, 2022 and 2024. During the past several years, amid North Idaho College's accreditation crisis, she vocally criticized three former NIC trustees who were backed by the Kootenai County GOP. 'I didn't know if I was in trouble for saying Phil Hart stole from public lands or if it was because I'm a known Democrat in the area,' she said. The town hall was meant to be a forum where constituents could engage with their legislators, Borrenpohl said. She said she was denied that opportunity. Borrenpohl also alleges she was assaulted. 'I think that my civil rights were stripped from me in that moment in a really embarrassing way,' she said. 'Admittedly, I spoke out of turn. But do we live in a country where you speak out of turn and the result is three men assaulting a woman?' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
