Private security guards charged after woman was dragged out of chaotic
Idaho town hall meeting
[April 22, 2025]
By REBECCA BOONE
Prosecutors in northern Idaho have filed misdemeanor charges against six
men in connection with the forcible removal of a woman from a
legislative town hall meeting in February.
Theresa Borrenpohl, the woman who was dragged out of the meeting in a
Coeur d'Alene school building by plain-clothed private security
officers, also formally notified Kootenai County officials on Monday of
her intent to sue by filing a tort claim notice.
The Coeur d'Alene City Prosecutor's office said Monday that Paul
Trouette, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones are charged
with misdemeanor battery, false imprisonment, and violations of security
agent duties and uniform requirements. Alex Trouette IV, is charged with
security agent duties and uniform violations. All five of the men are
associated with the private security firm Lear Asset Management, which
had its license revoked by the city after the town hall.
A sixth man not associated with the security firm, Michael Keller, is
charged with misdemeanor battery, the prosecutor's office said.
Court documents detailing the charges have not yet been made public, and
the Coeur d'Alene City Prosecutor's office declined to comment further.
Dunne declined to to comment, and neither Berg nor Paul Trouette
immediately responded to voice or email messages left by The Associated
Press. Phone numbers could not be found for Jones, Keller or Alex
Trouette.
Roughly 450 people attended the legislative town hall hosted by the
Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, according to organizers.
Videos of the event show the room erupting into cheers and jeering at
times. At at least one point, Borrenpohl, a Democratic legislative
candidate who has run unsuccessfully in the deeply Republican region,
joined the shouting.
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Employees of a security firm, LEAR Asset Management, drag Post Falls
resident Teresa Borrenpohl out of a town hall meeting on Saturday,
Feb. 22, 2025, in Post Falls, Idaho. (Hailey Hill/Coeur D'Alene
Press via AP, File)
The video of the event showed Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris,
who was in plain clothes but wearing his badge on his belt,
approached Borrenpohl. He introduced himself and told her to leave
or she would be escorted out. Then the sheriff stepped back and
began recording on his cellphone as three unidentified men
approached and began grabbing Borrenpohl. The men appeared to refuse
Borrenpohl's requests to identify themselves, and none appeared to
be wearing uniforms.
After the incident, Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson
released a statement saying the agency will have a “complete and
independent investigation of the incident conducted by an outside
agency.”
In a Monday press release, Borrenpohl said she has heard
descriptions of similar incidents from people who reached out to her
after the town hall, “reinforcing to me the importance of demanding
accountability in my own case.”
“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,” Borrenpohl said.
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