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What Happened at the Coeur d’Alene Town hall? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-01
I’ve never been to Coeur d’Alene that I know of. It’s on I-90 and not far from Spokane, WA. It looks like it’s a beautiful city.
I have no special insight into the place, but having been reading the Coeur d’Alene newspapers over the last few days and growing up in the rural midwest, I have some feeling for the place.
Throughout this article I’m trying to keep my emotions out of it and document what happened. It goes without saying that what happened to Teresa Borrenpohl is a travesty and my sympathies go out to her.
Sources:
Coeurd'Alene town hall security detail remains mystery
UPDATE on town hall chaos: Woman who was dragged out speaks, police chief condemns security, name of security firm confirmed
Town hall security arrangements still unclear
Public or private: Kootenai County GOP, others debate nature of town hall
Protest forms outside Kootenai County Sheriff's Office
Security firm in viral video of GOP meeting in Idaho has long history in Mendocino County, Emerald Triangle
Idahotown hall meeting turns chaotic after woman is forcibly removed for shouting at speakers
The New Pinkertons: Private Security Outfit Raids Pot Farms In California
Educator Dragged from Idaho Town Hall on Orders of Ex-L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Collecting $150K+ in Disability
Two days after a woman was dragged from a Coeur d’Alene town hall,Sheriff Bob Norris and other parties will face investigation into conduct
Woman dragged from N. Idaho town hall won’t be charged. City sidelines security company
Business license revoked for security firm involved in Coeur d’Alene town hall dragging incident
Coeurd'Alene School District clarifies role in divisive Republican town hall
Multiple Democrats forcibly removed from Kootenai County Republican Central Committee town hall
Lear Asset Management
Cast of characters:
Brent Regan – Chair of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee(KCRCC)
Bob Norris – Kootenai County Sheriff
Teresa Borrenpohl – Victim, ran for a legislative seat in 2020, 2022, 2024 (Democrat)
Mary Rosdahl – witness (nurse)
Lee White - Coeur d’Alene Police Chief
Paul Trouette — owner of security firm LEAR Asset Management
Richard Seamon — Constitutional Law professor at University of Idaho
Christofer Berg, Jesse Jones, Alexander Trouette – security guards
Marc Stewart — Member of the KCRCC
What appears to have happened was that there was a town hall where constituents could meet their elected officials at the Coeur d’Alene High School. The event was being put on by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. During the town hall there was cheering and jeering from a large swath of the audience and Teresa Borrenpohl was forcibly removed.
At this point I’m going to try to switch to new accounts with minimal commentary. Kaye Thornbrugh’s reporting in the Coeur d’Alene Press is wonderful! I mean, really, really wonderful.
This is the earliest reporting I’ve found.
Coeur d'Alene town hall security detail remains mystery
The identities of the men who dragged a woman out of a legislative town hall in the Coeur d’Alene High School auditorium on Saturday remain a mystery, with event organizers claiming no knowledge of who arranged the security detail or which company was used.
Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chair Brent Regan said the group’s legislative committee arranged security for the event but said he didn’t know what company they selected. He said he expected Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris to have the details.
Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chair Brent Regan said the group’s legislative committee arranged security for the event but said he didn’t know what company they selected. He said he expected Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris to have the details.
“Bob (Norris) was right there,” he said Saturday afternoon. “Nothing was done without him being aware.”
The county Sheriff was involved. The host of the event, KCRCC Chair Brent Regan, denies all knowledge of the security arrangements. Later in the article the Sheriff also denies all knowledge of the security arrangements.
That’s just the first four paragraphs of the story. I need to stop quoting there for fair use. It’s linked at the top of this diary.
UPDATE on town hall chaos: Woman who was dragged out speaks, police chief condemns security, name of security firm confirmed
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.
“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.” — Teresa Borrenpohl
“I was really dumbfounded because he [sheriff Bob Norris] said, ‘Do you want me to pepper spray you?’” she [Borrenpohl] recalled. “That was the first thing he said to me that I remember.”
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.
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.
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.
Town hall security arrangements still unclear
Days after a group of security guards dragged a Post Falls woman out of a legislative town hall at Coeur d’Alene High School, it remains unclear whether the guards were hired or volunteers or whether they had any formal agreement with the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee that hosted the town hall.
Since then, Regan has told news outlets that he hired LEAR Asset Management due to threats against lawmakers who planned to attend the town hall and that the security guards were volunteers.
Bolding mine…
Public records obtained by The Press indicate that Paul Trouette and Nina Beesley, who represents precinct 307 on the central committee, did a walkthrough at CHS last Thursday, Feb. 20, two days before the town hall. Jesse Jones and Alexander Trouette obtained security agent licenses from the city of Coeur d’Alene the same day, according to public records, while Christofer Berg obtained the license Feb. 21.
“It was at this point Trouette changed his story a bit and stated he was not really ‘hired’ but that he had volunteered his services to the KCRCC and was not going to be paid for the event,” a police report said. “Additionally, he stated he did not have a contract drawn up and signed, showing what services he would be providing to the event.” Under Idaho law, security personnel who are “actively engaged in their employment” may carry a firearm in a public school. If the security guards were volunteers with no contract, Reneau said, they could not legally carry firearms while at CHS. Paul Trouette told Reneau he would be paid $1 for his services, according to a police report, but said the KCRCC had “rushed” the security arrangements and, as a result, he was unlikely to have a contract in place before the town hall.
Public or private: Kootenai County GOP, others debate nature of town hall
In the wake of a legislative town hall where plainclothes security guards dragged a woman from the Coeur d’Alene High School auditorium, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee maintains that the event was private — while the Coeur d’Alene School District, city police and prosecutors, and some community members assert that the town hall was a public event.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told The Press that his handling of Borrenpohl was in line with security protocols set before the town hall began and that it was appropriate to physically remove her from the event. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department, which was called into the high school after Borrenpohl’s removal, took a different stance. Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said it’s inappropriate for law enforcement to forcefully remove a person from a town hall for speaking out of turn or shouting. He said his officers declined Norris’ request that Borrenpohl be arrested for trespassing because the town hall was a public event.
Stewart said he suggested Coeur d’Alene High School as a venue for the Feb. 22 event because the school has a larger auditorium and more available parking than the local churches where many of the central committee's events are held. He also thought CHS would be a neutral location for what he understood to be a public event. Flyers promoted the event as a town hall. “This is a great opportunity to meet your Idaho state legislators and get updates on the 2025 legislative session,” the central committee said in a public Facebook post before the event. In a public statement, the Coeur d’Alene School District said the Kootenai County GOP’s request to hold the town hall at CHS was granted only because the event would be public. “At no point was the KCRCC’s town hall — featuring participation by the area’s elected state legislators — presented to the district as a ‘private meeting,’” the district said in a news release. “Had it been presented as such, the district would’ve denied the request (to use CHS as a venue).”
KCRCC chair Brent Regan claims the event was private, the Kootenhai County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t released an opinion that I’ve seen. Pretty much everyone else says this was a public town hall in a public high school.
Protest forms outside Kootenai County Sheriff's Office
The town hall, hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, descended into chaos after Norris attempted to remove Post Falls resident Teresa Borrenpohl from the event, then motioned to a group of then-unidentified, plainclothes security guards, who dragged Borrenpohl out of the auditorium at Coeur d’Alene High School.
Some also voiced their opposition to KCRCC chairman Brent Regan on Friday. Dozens of motorists honked, waved or cheered in solidarity as they passed the protesters. “We don’t like him at all,” one woman called from her vehicle. One man shouted from his car that he was a veteran and supported what the protestors were doing.
With much appreciation, that’s it for Kaye Thornbrugh’s reporting.
From the Associated Press . Idaho town hall meeting turns chaotic after woman is forcibly removed for shouting at speakers
The incident Saturday at Coeur d’Alene High School, first reported by the Coeur d’Alene Press, drew widespread attention after videos of the turbulence were posted online. Now more than $120,000 has been raised for Teresa Borrenpohl’s legal costs, and the police chief has asked to have the security firm’s business license revoked. The city attorney’s office also dismissed a misdemeanor battery citation against Borrenpohl “in the interest of justice,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said Monday, and detectives are reviewing video to determine whether the security officers violated any laws
The incident Saturday at Coeur d’Alene High School, first reported by the Coeur d’Alene Press, drew widespread attention after videos of the turbulence were posted online. Now more than $120,000 has been raised for Teresa Borrenpohl’s legal costs, and the police chief has asked to have the security firm’s business license revoked. The city attorney’s office also dismissed a misdemeanor battery citation against Borrenpohl “in the interest of justice,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said Monday, and detectives are reviewing video to determine whether the security officers violated any laws
I saw later reporting that the GoFundMe had reached $200,000. As I write this it’s at $326,732.
The men worked for the private security company LEAR Asset Management, based in Hayden, Idaho. Messages left for CEO Paul Trouette were not immediately returned. The men appeared to have violated Coeur d’Alene City ordinances, which require security personnel to wear uniforms with the word “Security” clearly marked “in letters no less than 1-inch tall on the front of the uniform.” White, the police chief, told The Associated Press he had requested the revocation of company’s business licenses and the security agent licenses from the individuals who were involved.
The Press Democrat . Security firm in viral video of GOP meeting in Idaho has long history in Mendocino County, Emerald Triangle
The three men have since been identified as agents with Lear Asset Management. Locally, the company is known for descending from unmarked helicopters throughout the “Emerald Triangle” in Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino counties to clean up illegal cannabis grows.
In 2013, The Willits News reported that Lear found an illegal pot grow on private, rural land in Mendocino County. During the raid, its agents detained two trespassers until Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies arrived. “Law enforcement just doesn’t have the means to take care of it any longer,” Trouette told Talking Points Memo in 2014. At the same time Lear patrolled the forest for illegal cannabis grows, Trouette’s nonprofit, Mendocino County Blacktail Association, cleaned up the aftermath of cannabis grows and other destruction in the Mendocino National Forest. Personnel from both groups were armed with assault rifles.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that no Kootenai County Deputy Sheriffs or other personnel were present or involved in the incident.
Since we’re on the topic, here’s Talking Points Memo ’s report on Lear.
Lear’s licenses in Coeur d’Alene have been revoked. We’ll see if this has repercussions in California.
Los Angeles Magazine . Educator Dragged from Idaho Town Hall on Orders of Ex-L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Collecting $150K+ in Disability
The security firm LEAR Asset Management, licensed as a private patrol operator in California but whose plainclothes presence violated Coeur d'Alene city code requiring clearly marked uniforms, has declined to comment. While Norris claims no knowledge of security arrangements, KCRCC chair Brent Regan stated, "Nothing was done without him being aware."
Now, records from Transparent California reveal Norris collects $186,675 annually from the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association - including $150,282 in disability payments and $36,393 in benefits. While claiming in 2020 he received only pension payments, he recently disclosed having partial disability ratings - 12% for his right shoulder and 13% for his left. However, after video surfaced of Norris physically grabbing and attempting to remove Borrenpohl from the town hall, users online have begun questioning whether he should still be receiving disability payments based on alleged physical impairments.
The town hall incident adds to a pattern of controversies since Norris took office. In his first month as sheriff, he drew criticism for pulling out pepper spray during a filmed traffic stop. He later made headlines for unauthorized removal of library books he deemed inappropriate, and faces a $500,000 defamation lawsuit from a local photographer.
Mary Rosdahl, a nurse who witnessed the incident, expressed concern about Borrenpohl's treatment. "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."
The Spokesman-Review . Two days after a woman was dragged from a Coeur d’Alene town hall, Sheriff Bob Norris and other parties will face investigation into conduct
Regan, chairman of the KCRCC, said he hired them as a precaution over threats made against a legislator.
I remember back when Brent Regan was denying all knowledge of the security arrangements.
Notification for the event was posted on Facebook by the KCRCC and does not indicate the meeting was private or ticketed in any way. “The KCRCC will be holding a Legislative Town Hall on Saturday, February 22nd, 12:30-2:30 PM, at the Coeur d’Alene High School. This is a great opportunity to meet your Idaho State Legislators and get updates on the 2025 Legislative Session,” the post states.
Gookin, a member of the KCRCC often at odds with Regan, said he disagrees with Regan’s classification of the event as private. “My contention is, why would you send out flyers to the general public and advertise that this event is happening if this is a private event,” Gookin said. “I think they’re trying to mince words to justify their actions.” He considered Saturday’s setting a public event, though not a public meeting. ✂️ “If someone’s being disruptive, you can ask them to leave; you cannot force someone to leave,” Gookin said, saying a proper reaction to Borrenpohl would have been to call 911 and have authorities trespass her. “In your own home, definitely you can drag someone out the front door,” Gookin said. “But as far as a public location like that, say you rent the pavilion for a picnic, you don’t drag them out by their hair, you call the police.”
https://www.kxly.com . Coeur d'Alene School District clarifies role in divisive Republican town hall
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