Posted on 04/20/2025 1:18:35 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
City prosecutors have filed criminal charges against six men involved in a chaotic legislative town hall, including the private security guards who dragged a Post Falls woman out of the Coeur d’Alene High School auditorium.
Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones, all of whom are associated with the security firm Lear Asset Management, are charged with the misdemeanor crimes of battery and false imprisonment. The five men and Alex Trouette were also cited for security agent uniform violations and security agent duties violations.
Post Falls resident Michael Keller is also charged with battery, a misdemeanor.
The charges stem from Feb. 22, when Teresa Borrenpohl shouted from the audience during a town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris approached Borrenpohl and told her to leave. When she refused, Norris tried to pull her from her seat. He then appeared to gesture to plainclothes security personnel, who dragged Borrenpohl out of the auditorium.
Berg, Dunne, Jones and Paul Trouette “all put their hands on (Borrenpohl) against her will,” police said. Investigators identified Alex Trouette as an accessory because no footage showed him touching other people.
Investigators identified three other members of the public who Norris or security personnel “forcefully touched or physically removed” from the town hall, including a woman who said Paul Trouette touched her breast after pushing her down the hallway and while attempting to turn her around to zip tie her hands.
Police identified Norris as an “involved” party. No criminal charges have been filed against him.
A report prepared by Coeur d’Alene police described footage that showed Norris threaten to arrest a man who attended the town hall, “shoving” the man toward the auditorium exit and pushing him against a wall in the hallway outside.
So, if you hold a public meeting and it gets interrupted by a deranged Democrat leftist, there isn't anything you can do! It's little wonder Republicans are concerned about holding public meetings to meet constituents with these leftist lunatics on the loose.
The leftist CdA Press headline says it was a "dragging." In reality, it was an attempt to maintain order at a public meeting and restore order after a deranged leftist lunatic took the meeting over.
Someone should invade the offices of the prosecutors in this case, start shouting, and refuse to leave. Show these apes what frauds they are.
Agreed. Force feed them their own trash.
If they were going to kick out protestors, they should’ve used sworn law enforcement instead of private security. The use of private security was a serious misstep.
CC
“The use of private security was a serious misstep.”
True. But I would posit the Republicans did not anticipate that a lunatic Dem protestor would pull such antics in CdA. These are common leftist strategies in big cities. But it definitely was an odd decision.
The county sheriff was there. I’m not sure if he had any deputies present.
Every conservative town meeting in the USA better take heed.
I knew immediately after seeing only the headline, that they were only charging because Democrats were upset.
Antifa and BLM get awards and parades.
Yup. This.
Going “hands on” as private security is really dumb unless it is absolutely necessary. This is a job for the cops.
“Any ‘conservative’ town should be prepared for these antics and some these days.”
That is the KEY takeaway. Every Republican constituent meeting in the country better be ready for these leftist take-down tactics and have lots of law enforcement standing by. Using private security was just plain stupid, but it’s easy to be the Monday Morning QB.
“Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris approached Borrenpohl and told her to leave.”
When she refused, why didn’t HE arrest her & have deputies remove her?
Republicans need to understand what's going on at these meetings. The Democrats are causing confrontations so they can create martyr and photo-ops the media can use to smear Republicans.
Republicans need to bring in professionals who know how to work within the law. You don't want the Hell's Angels and another Altamont.
She was disrupting the meeting, and it appears that after he himself was unable to remove her, the Kootenai County Sheriff directed the private security to remove her. If the Coeur d'Alene prosecutor wants to pursue this, it seems he will have to go after the Kootenai County Sheriff. Not sure the people of Coeur d'Alene will stand for that, seeing as they tend to be conservative. Might have trouble finding a jury to convict these guys in Coeur d'Alene.
Because Coeur d’Alene has a Police Department, and the Sheriff doesn't have jurisdiction.
Looks like a conspiracy to abduct someone, hope they all are prosecuted. I recall the covid shutdown backlash where people were thrown out and shunned for saying we shouldn't shutdown everything and tried to make their voices heard. You can't trust gov't to do the right thing.
They kicked her out of a Republican town hall because she and her group were disrupting the event. That’s not abducting, it’s ejecting. I suspect we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this.
It's become a long complicated issue. Grok summarizes below. I've condensed and reorganized a couple of questions on this to Grok...
Sheriff Bob Norris did not arrest Teresa Borrenpohl at the February 22, 2025, Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) town hall in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, primarily because the Coeur d’Alene Police Department (CdAPD), which had jurisdiction over the event at Coeur d’Alene High School, declined his request to arrest her for trespassing, citing First Amendment protections.Borrenpohl’s behavior was extremely disruptive and is supported by accounts from the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) and its chair, Brent Regan. They claimed Borrenpohl interrupted speakers at least seven times, including during the invocation, and was warned three times to stop before Sheriff Bob Norris intervened. The KCRCC argued her actions halted the event for 18 minutes, infringing on the rights of the 450 attendees to hear their legislators. This perspective frames her behavior as beyond mere dissent, potentially justifying removal to maintain order.
After multiple disruptions, Sheriff Norris, present due to a threat against Rep. Jordan Redman, approached Borrenpohl, threatened to pepper-spray her, and ordered her to leave or face arrest. When she refused, Norris gestured to plainclothes security from Lear Asset Management, who dragged her out, causing bruising and abrasions. Borrenpohl was cited for misdemeanor battery for allegedly biting a guard but not arrested for trespassing.
Coeur d’Alene High School falls within CdAPD’s jurisdiction, not the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), though sheriffs have county-wide authority. Norris requested CdAPD officers, stationed outside due to the Redman threat, to arrest Borrenpohl for trespassing. CdAPD Chief Lee White declined, stating, “Since this was an open to the public event, we are not going to arrest anyone for trespassing. That would be inappropriate.”
CdAPD Chief White argued Borrenpohl’s removal violated her First Amendment rights, as her one-sentence outbursts (e.g., “Is this a town hall or a lecture?”) were less disruptive than audience cheers, which went unpunished. He emphasized, “You can restrict behavior, but you cannot restrict content,” highlighting free speech protections.
The event’s status as a “limited public forum” (a public venue open for specific purposes) complicated Sheriff Norris’s authority. Legal experts, like Gonzaga University’s Erica Goldberg, noted that while disruptions can justify removal, the reasoning must be content-neutral and proportionate. Borrenpohl’s removal appeared targeted at her dissent (e.g., criticizing legislators), while pro-Republican cheers were tolerated, raising free speech concerns.
BUT, CdAPD’s investigation found Borrenpohl’s statements didn’t significantly disrupt the event’s “flow,” supporting White’s decision not to arrest her. That is in direct conflict with the KCRCC objection.
Probably so. Reminds me of when my wife fired a man for not performing his job, the guy went postal and security guards tried to detain him but called SFPD to drag him out, which they did while the man was kicking and screaming. No complaint about touching his breast (ha-ha), but he ended up suing the company and lost the lawsuit. Cops have more leeway than private security.
Read the article. The sheriff told the woman to leave and when she refused, he tried to remove her but couldn’t. He then appeared to motion to the security to r remove her. Question appears to be whether sheriff had authority there (why he wouldn’t I don’t know) but seems the security were action on his “orders”
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