An Idaho woman was violently removed by private security guards from a town hall organized by a local Republican committee in an incident that was described as a "foreboding sign."
A legislative town hall led by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee descended into chaos Saturday when unidentified, plainclothes security personnel physically removed protester Teresa Borrenpohl, of Post Falls, from the Coeur d’Alene High School auditorium after she heckled legislators, reported the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls Press.
“Nobody was telling people cheering to stop cheering, but any time there was a negative reaction, we were scolded,” Borrenpohl said. “I felt comfortable expressing displeasure because people were very openly expressing their appreciation for the legislators there.”
However, Borrenpohl said the mood shifted when she shouted out about another GOP legislator when state Rep. Ron Mendive (R-Coeur d’Alene) touted his record on caring for public lands.
“I screamed — out of turn, admittedly — ‘Phil Hart stole timber from public land,’” Borrenpohl said. “That’s when they seized on me.”
“I didn’t know if I was in trouble for saying Phil Hart stole from public lands," she added, "or if it was because I’m a known Democrat in the area."
Kootenai County sheriff Bob Norris approached Borrenpohl, but she didn't recognize him in the semidarkness because he was wearing civilian clothing, she said. He asked whether she wanted him to pepper spray her, and video footage shows him taking her arm and making several attempts to pull her from her seat before calling for assistance.
“Guys, get her," the sheriff said to a group of men who refused to identify themselves.
Borrenpohl asked them repeatedly who they were and asked Norris if they were deputies, but none of them answered. Both KCRCC chair Brent Regan and the sheriff denied knowledge of the event's security arrangements or who the men were, the report stated.
“She was asked to leave," Norris said. “(The security guards’) reaction was to (Borrenpohl’s) action. The reason why that occurred was because people came to disrupt.”
Coeur d’Alene police chief Lee White later confirmed the men worked for the private security firm LEAR Asset Management, which was described as "a military assault force" operating in California in a 2014 Time Magazine article, and whose founder Paul Trouette spoke out last year at a city council meeting in opposition of an ordinance that would have required that private security outfits more clearly identify themselves.
“I don’t care what your message is, especially in an open town hall like this,” said White, the police chief. “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.”
Coeur d’Alene city code requires security agents to wear "clearly marked" uniforms with the word "security" spelled out in letters no less than one inch tall on the front and at least four inches tall on the back, but the LEAR agents were in plainclothes, and Borrenpohl said she bit one of the men in fear as she lost her shoe and her shirt nearly came off during the struggle.
“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.”
“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,” Borrenpohl added.“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.”
Borrenpohl was cited and released for misdemeanor battery because of the bite, White said, but the police chief declined the sheriff's request that she be charged with 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.”
The National Review noted that militia groups and other far-extremists have been emboldened recently in Idaho, where local Republican groups have been taken over by MAGA extremists, and warned this could be a "foreboding sign" of things to come.
"In the recent past, unfortunately, what the far right do in Idaho has been an indicator of what may be erupting elsewhere — whether that’s masked militia groups patrolling Pride events or violent white supremacists running for office," the publication wrote. "Under this Trump administration, it feels like a series of limits are being tested, and in this part of the country, the tests were already underway. A Unite the Right attendee already won an endorsement from the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee in 2021 (he lost). Sheriff Norris already went viral for hunting for 'explicit' books in a local library."
"Now, with the apparent blessing of the county sheriff, a group of men who would not identify themselves and who were working for the local Republican Party have dragged someone out of a political meeting, her speech considered grounds for arrest," TNR wrote. "What’s next? And who will stand in their way?"
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