UPDATE: After hauling a heckler from a GOP town meeting, the sheriff and others are being investigated.
Idaho’s Boise Three plainclothes security guards violently removed a lady who was heckling the speakers from a Republican-hosted legislative town hall meeting in northern Idaho, sparking unrest.
After videos of the mayhem were uploaded online, the Coeur d Alene Press was the first to report on the Saturday incident at Coeur d Alene High School, which swiftly gained international notice.
More than $100,000 has now been contributed to cover Teresa Borrenpohl’s legal expenses. She was unlawfully held after receiving a minor citation for battery after biting one of the men who attempted to take her from her seat. In 2024, Borrenpohl, a Democrat, made an unsuccessful bid for a state legislative seat. An Associated Press request for comment was not immediately answered by her.
Tonya Coppedge, who was seated behind Borrenpohl and recorded the disturbance on her cellphone, claimed that she requested them to identify themselves several times. She claimed that the men, who were later revealed to be workers for a private security firm, refused. She claimed that one of the men had bent Borrenpohl’s wrist into an abnormally flexed posture that seemed to hurt.
According to Coppedge, it was quite violent and upsetting, and they weren’t very kind to her. I believe that what happened really unsettled everyone.
According to Brent Regan, chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, all attendees were informed that security personnel were on hand and that anyone who disregarded the rights of others would be ejected. According to Regan, Borrenpohl was cautioned at least three times for repeatedly interrupting the speakers.
We are making an effort to uphold the rights of the 450 listeners. According to Regan, one individual cannot stop the entire event by standing up. We had to halt the interruption after more than eighteen minutes, which interfered with the Q&A period.
Videos of the event reveal that Borrenpohl was among the several spectators who were jeering or cheering. Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who was likewise dressed plainly but had his badge on his belt, came up to Borrenpohl after one of the speakers urged the jeering to cease. After introducing himself, he threatened to escort her out if she didn’t leave. Then, as three unidentified men came up and started grabbing Borrenpohl, the sheriff took a step back and started recording on his cellphone.
Borrenpohl kept asking if the men were deputies, but he never received a response. The men carried her out of the venue when she struggled to stay in her seat. According to Borrenpohl’s friend Alicia Abbott, who set up a GoFundMe on her behalf, Borrenpohl has bruises on her chest from the event. She implied that the unnamed security personnel had wrongfully imprisoned Borrenpohl.
To begin with, who were these individuals to hold Teresa? “What?” Abbot inquired. This type of security presence at town halls and public gatherings is not new to us. Do they even understand the law if they are going to be holding people? Are they prepared to remove people safely?
The guys that violently ejected Teresa Borrenpohl from the conference were employed by Hayden, Idaho-based LEAR Asset Management, a private security firm. Its CEO did not immediately reply messages left for him. The guys seemed to have broken Coeur d Alene City regulations, which stipulate that security guards must wear uniforms bearing the word “security” prominently displayed on the front in lettering at least one inch tall.
One of the senators told organizers he had been receiving death threats, so they set up additional security for the event, Regan said. According to Regan, KCRCC alerted the sheriff and set up security after a person on social media threatened to bomb Republican Representative Jordan Redman. Officers from the Coeur d Alene Police Department were also positioned in the outside parking lot.
In a statement issued on Monday, Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson stated that an outside organization will undertake a thorough and unbiased investigation into the event.
