Latest news with #LearAssetManagement
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California security firm CEO, workers charged after woman forcibly removed from Republican town hall
Five employees of a private Northern California security company, known for using controversial tactics, have been charged in connection with a February incident in Idaho where an audience member in a Republican town hall was forcibly removed by men in plainclothes. The men, wearing civilian clothing, pulled the woman from her seat and carried her out of the building by her arms and feet as she resisted and repeatedly asked who they were. "Who are these guys?" she shouts in the video as the unidentified men grab her to eject her from the building. On Wednesday, officials in the Idaho city of Coeur d'Alene said those men were from the security company Lear Asset Management and were facing several misdemeanor charges in connection with the incident, including not wearing a uniform or visible security identification. The company's chief executive, Paul Trouette, was listed among the defendants and is also charged with four counts of battery, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count of security agent uniform violation, according to the city attorney's office. The four other employees, identified as Alex Trouette IV, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones, also face additional charges, including battery and false imprisonment. A sixth man, Michael Keller, who authorities say is not affiliated with the company, is also charged with battery in connection with the incident. Neither Paul Trouette nor his company responded to requests for comment. Founded and based in the small town of Willits, in Mendocino County, Lear Asset Management was founded by Trouette in 2012, according to state records. The company attracted clients in the logging industry, as well as from marijuana growers and private landowners looking to eradicate unlicensed grows. In operations, its employees were often seen heavily armed and wearing camouflage. The firm was at times contracted by companies who clashed with environmentalists. One activist told SFGate they faced Lear employees while protesting Humboldt Redwood Co.'s operations. Sarah Luttio told the publication that during protests from 2019 to 2022, where they sat in trees to prevent them from being removed, Lear employees used intimidation tactics including harassing them with floodlights and playing loud music, sounds of screaming animals and right-wing talk radio. According to its website, Lear Asset Management operates mainly in the Pacific Northwest. The company has worked with clients with "large land assets" such as timber companies but has also worked with schools, corporations and private assets. The company also touts that it works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including local police and sheriff departments, California state parks, the Bureau of Land Management, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration. In a 2014 article in Time, the magazine reported that Lear employed about 15 people, including former military personnel, who were being hired by large property owners to clear illegal pot grows, while wearing camouflaged gear and carrying AR-15 rifles. When video of the Feb. 22 incident in Idaho surfaced, it quickly turned viral online, with many wondering who the men were since they weren't wearing any type of uniform. Teresa Borrenpohl, the protester who was removed by the employees, later commented on the incident on Instagram. "I could have never imagined my right to free speech and my right to assemble could be stripped in such a violent way," she wrote. Two days after the violent confrontation, the city identified the men as employees of Lear Asset Management. Borrenpohl had been initially cited for allegedly biting one of the men, but city officials said the citation was dismissed. City officials also revoked the business license for Lear Asset Management for violating the city ordinance regarding private security companies. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
24-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
California security firm CEO, workers charged after woman forcibly removed from Republican town hall
Five employees of a private Northern California security company, known for using controversial tactics, have been charged in connection with a February incident in Idaho where an audience member in a Republican town hall was forcibly removed by men in plainclothes. The men, wearing civilian clothing, pulled the woman from her seat and carried her out of the building by her arms and feet as she resisted and repeatedly asked who they were. 'Who are these guys?' she shouts in the video as the unidentified men grab her to eject her from the building. On Wednesday, officials in the Idaho city of Coeur d'Alene said those men were from the security company Lear Asset Management and were facing several misdemeanor charges in connection with the incident, including not wearing a uniform or visible security identification. The company's chief executive, Paul Trouette, was listed among the defendants and is also charged with four counts of battery, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count of security agent uniform violation, according to the city attorney's office. The four other employees, identified as Alex Trouette IV, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones, also face additional charges, including battery and false imprisonment. A sixth man, Michael Keller, who authorities say is not affiliated with the company, is also charged with battery in connection with the incident. Neither Paul Trouette nor his company responded to requests for comment. Founded and based in the small town of Willits, in Mendocino County, Lear Asset Management was founded by Trouette in 2012, according to state records. The company attracted clients in the logging industry, as well as from marijuana growers and private landowners looking to eradicate unlicensed grows. In operations, its employees were often seen heavily armed and wearing camouflage. The firm was at times contracted by companies who clashed with environmentalists. One activist told SFGate they faced Lear employees while protesting Humboldt Redwood Co.'s operations. Sarah Luttio told the publication that during protests from 2019 to 2022, where they sat in trees to prevent them from being removed, Lear employees used intimidation tactics including harassing them with floodlights and playing loud music, sounds of screaming animals and right-wing talk radio. According to its website, Lear Asset Management operates mainly in the Pacific Northwest. The company has worked with clients with 'large land assets' such as timber companies but has also worked with schools, corporations and private assets. The company also touts that it works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including local police and sheriff departments, California state parks, the Bureau of Land Management, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration. In a 2014 article in Time, the magazine reported that Lear employed about 15 people, including former military personnel, who were being hired by large property owners to clear illegal pot grows, while wearing camouflaged gear and carrying AR-15 rifles. When video of the Feb. 22 incident in Idaho surfaced, it quickly turned viral online, with many wondering who the men were since they weren't wearing any type of uniform. Teresa Borrenpohl, the protester who was removed by the employees, later commented on the incident on Instagram. 'I could have never imagined my right to free speech and my right to assemble could be stripped in such a violent way,' she wrote. Two days after the violent confrontation, the city identified the men as employees of Lear Asset Management. Borrenpohl had been initially cited for allegedly biting one of the men, but city officials said the citation was dismissed. City officials also revoked the business license for Lear Asset Management for violating the city ordinance regarding private security companies.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Woman dragged out of Republican town hall suing for $5M
Teresa Borrenpohl, the Idaho woman who was dragged to the floor and pulled out of a local Republican town hall in February, is seeking $5 million in damages from a private security firm and the men she says were responsible for her forcible removal from the meeting. Borrenpohl, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for a state House seat last fall, filed a notice of tort claim, which is a legally required precursor to a civil lawsuit in Idaho, on Monday. The suit concerns an incident from Feb. 22 in Coeur d'Alene in which Borrenpohl heckled lawmakers attending a town hall meeting attended by state legislators and hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC). Borrenpohl's suit names Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris and KCRCC Chair Brent Regan, as well as Lear Asset Management, the private security firm for the event, and five Lear guards, including the company's CEO Paul Trouette. '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. 'Since this disturbing incident, I have received an outpouring of support from people across the country, for which I am immensely grateful. Along with words of comfort and sympathy, folks have described similar acts of aggression in their own neighborhoods, reinforcing to me the importance of demanding accountability in my own case.' Efforts by The Hill to reach Lear Asset Management and Trouette by telephone were not successful, but Trouette in remarks to The Washington Post defended his company. 'The Constitution provides freedom of speech, but it does not provide a license to be disruptive,' he told the newspaper. Separately, Trouette and four other men face charges of battery and false imprisonment for actions related to the incident, according to a report in The New York Times. Those charges were brought by the Coeur d'Alene prosecutor's office. Two other men face separate charges. The City of Coeur d'Alene also revoked Lear's business license for violating city ordinances that require security agents to wear clearly marked uniforms, per the Times. Trouette told the Times those charges were baseless. 'We believe these charges are false and should have never been made,' he said. Viral video from the event shows several men pulling Borrenpohl out of her seat and into the aisle as she yells 'Who are these men?' Norris is seen in the video encouraging the men and recording the encounter on his phone, while Regan, who was speaking at the podium, also is shown expressing support for her physical removal. The KCRCC defended its actions in a Feb. 27 statement released five days after the event, arguing Borrenpohl interrupted the proceedings, shouted insults and prevented other people from participating, something it described as a 'heckler's veto.' It also described Borrenpohl as a 'known agitator' while saying her behavior crossed a line and that she was warned to cease her disruptions and asked by Norris to leave at least five times. 'The KCRCC acted wholly within our legal rights and Idaho law to ensure the peace, safety, and rights of those in attendance,' the group wrote. Borrenpohl's attorney said the sheriff and the security firm should both be held responsible for their treatment of her client. 'Today is the first step in the civil legal system for pursuing justice for Teresa and holding Lear Asset Management and Sheriff Norris responsible for the disturbing events that happened at the town hall event,' Borrenpohl's attorney, Wendy Olson, said in a statement. 'We have put the county on notice that its public officials intentionally obstructed Teresa's constitutional rights and physically assaulted her in the process.' Borrenpohl alleges that she 'suffered pain, scratches, bruising and emotional distress' from the ordeal. 'Ms. Borrenpohl was fearful for her safety throughout the time the men assaulted her. Because the men were unidentified, because Sheriff Norris directed them to physically remove her, and because of the manner in which they dragged her from the auditorium, Ms. Borrenpohl feared that she was being kidnapped,' it reads. According to Borrenpohl's claim and video of the incident, several people in the crowded auditorium were loudly responding to elected officials' remarks during the forum — some in support and others against, including Borrenpohl. 'Although several in the auditorium stood, pointed, and yelled, Ms. Borrenpohl remained seated while she was speaking,' the claim reads. 'No other person was physically grabbed and removed from the auditorium in the same manner prior to the unidentified men dragging her from the auditorium. Nor were any who supported the speakers confronted or asked to leave.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Woman dragged out of Republican town hall suing for $5M
Teresa Borrenpohl, the Idaho woman who was dragged to the floor and pulled out of a local Republican town hall in February, is seeking $5 million in damages from a private security firm and the men she says were responsible for her forcible removal from the meeting. Borrenpohl, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for a state House seat last fall, filed a notice of tort claim, which is a legally required precursor to a civil lawsuit in Idaho, on Monday. The suit concerns an incident from Feb. 22 in Coeur d'Alene in which Borrenpohl heckled lawmakers attending a town hall meeting attended by state legislators and hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC). Borrenpohl's suit names Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris and KCRCC Chair Brent Regan, as well as Lear Asset Management, the private security firm for the event, and five Lear guards, including the company's CEO Paul Trouette. '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. 'Since this disturbing incident, I have received an outpouring of support from people across the country, for which I am immensely grateful. Along with words of comfort and sympathy, folks have described similar acts of aggression in their own neighborhoods, reinforcing to me the importance of demanding accountability in my own case.' Efforts by The Hill to reach Lear Asset Management and Trouette by telephone were not successful, but Trouette in remarks to The Washington Post defended his company. 'The Constitution provides freedom of speech, but it does not provide a license to be disruptive,' he told the newspaper. Separately, Trouette and four other men face charges of battery and false imprisonment for actions related to the incident, according to a report in The New York Times. Those charges were brought by the Coeur d'Alene Prosecutor's Office. Two other men face separate charges. The City of Coeur d'Alene also revoked Lear's business license for violating city ordinances that require security agents to wear clearly marked uniforms, per the Times. Trouette told the Times those charges were baseless. 'We believe these charges are false and should have never been made,' he said. Viral video from the event shows several men pulling Borrenpohl out of her seat and into the aisle as she yells 'Who are these men?' Norris is seen in the video encouraging the men and recording the encounter on his phone, while Regan, who was speaking at the podium, also is shown expressing support for her physical removal. The KCRCC defended its actions in a Feb. 27 statement released five days after the event, arguing Borrenpohl interrupted the proceedings, shouted insults and prevented other people from participating, something it described as a 'heckler's veto.' It also described Borrenpohl as a 'known agitator' while saying her behavior crossed a line and that she was warned to cease her disruptions and asked by Norris to leave at least five times. 'The KCRCC acted wholly within our legal rights and Idaho law to ensure the peace, safety, and rights of those in attendance,' the group wrote. Borrenpohl's attorney said the sheriff and the security firm should both be held responsible for their treatment of her client. 'Today is the first step in the civil legal system for pursuing justice for Teresa and holding Lear Asset Management and Sheriff Norris responsible for the disturbing events that happened at the town hall event,' Borrenpohl attorney Wendy Olson said in a statement. 'We have put the county on notice that its public officials intentionally obstructed Teresa's constitutional rights and physically assaulted her in the process.' Borrenpohl alleges that she 'suffered pain, scratches, bruising and emotional distress' from the ordeal. 2024 Election Coverage 'Ms. Borrenpohl was fearful for her safety throughout the time the men assaulted her. Because the men were unidentified, because Sheriff Norris directed them to physically remove her, and because of the manner in which they dragged her from the auditorium, Ms. Borrenpohl feared that she was being kidnapped,' it reads. According to Borrenpohl's claim and video of the incident, several people in the crowded auditorium were loudly responding to elected officials' remarks during the forum — some in support and others against, including Borrenpohl. 'Although several in the auditorium stood, pointed, and yelled, Ms. Borrenpohl remained seated while she was speaking,' the claim reads. 'No other person was physically grabbed and removed from the auditorium in the same manner prior to the unidentified men dragging her from the auditorium. Nor were any who supported the speakers confronted or asked to leave.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
"Demand accountability": Idaho woman seeks $5M in damages after being dragged from GOP town hall
An Idaho woman who was dragged from a Republican town hall in Coeur d'Alene in February plans to sue the county sheriff and private security firm responsible for her upsetting removal. Teresa Borrenpohl filed a tort claim in Kootenai County on Monday, announcing her intention to bring a lawsuit against Sheriff Bob Norris and Lear Asset Management, the security firm whose plain-clothes employees pried Borrenpohl from her seat and removed her from the event. Borrenpohl's lawsuit comes shortly after the Coeur d'Alene City Prosecutor's office brought charges against the security guards. Four of the guards were charged with misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment, as well as violations of the city's requirements for uniformed security. A fifth security guard was charged with uniform violations. '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 shared in a statement. Borrenpohl said she was encouraged to seek restitution by people who reached out to support her after video of her removal went viral. "I have received an outpouring of support from people across the country," she said. "Along with words of comfort and sympathy, folks have described similar acts of aggression in their own neighborhoods, reinforcing to me the importance of demanding accountability in my own case." Lear CEO Paul Trouette told the Washington Post that the charges against his employees were "misguided [and] false" and stood by the decision to remove Borrenpohl from the town hall. "The Constitution provides freedom of speech, but it does not provide a license to be disruptive,' he said.
