A group of six men, five of them security guards, have been criminally charged over their roles in dragging a heckler out of a town-hall meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in February.
Teresa Borrenpohl, a three-time Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives, interrupted multiple speakers at a Kootenai County Republican Central Committee event at Coeur d’Alene High School on Feb. 22. She was repeatedly warned to stop her interruptions before the incident.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris told Ms. Borrenpohl to leave her seat or be arrested, and she did not comply. The sheriff asked personnel with Lear Asset Management to step in and she was subsequently dragged out of the meeting.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office clarified on Feb. 24 that no deputies were involved and that an outside agency would be conducting an independent investigation into the incident.
The men were “wearing a tactical type pants and a long sleeve black jacket. There were no security markings on their clothing, no badges, or other identifiers that would indicate they were security,” the Coeur d’Alene Police Department said in a report. The lack of markings is a violation of city code.
Lear was also working the event without a signed contract in place, according to the police report, which would constitute a misdemeanor.
Lear Asset Management CEO Paul Trouette and Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones face misdemeanor battery, false imprisonment and violation of security agent duty and uniform requirements, according to The Associated Press. Alexander Trouette IV faces only the violation of security agent duty and uniform requirements charges, while the sixth man accused, Michael Keller, was unaffiliated with Lear and faces a battery charge in the incident.
Ms. Borrenpohl, who intends to sue, said Monday that “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,” according to the AP.
Mr. Trouette, the Lear CEO, told the New York Times that “we believe these charges are false and should have never been made.” He has also contested Coeur d’Alene’s revocation of Lear’s business license.
The company contended that its personnel had to comply under a “direct lawful order” from Sheriff Norris, per Idaho state law.
