Woman Dragged From Republican Town Hall Seeks $5 Million In Damages
When Teresa Borrenpohl was dragged out of an Idaho town hall in February over her aggressive questioning of Republican officials — by dark-clad men who refused to identify themselves — it seemed like a scene ripped from The Handmaid’s Tale, replete with a man on stage mocking her: “She spoke up, and now she doesn’t want to suffer the consequences.”
The incident sparked national headlines, including coverage in The New York Times. And when Borrenpohl was initially cited with battery for resisting, the case seemed a dark harbinger for the erosion of civil liberties in the new Trump era.
In recent days, however, the justice system appears to be righting itself. The Coeur D’Alene city attorney has filed battery and false imprisonment charges stemming from the town hall incident. Separately, Borrenpohl has moved to file a $5 million lawsuit against the sheriff; the men who dragged her from the town hall; and others she blames for her injuries, both constitutional and physical.
The First Amendment nightmare unfolded on the afternoon of February 22, at a town hall meeting of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, held at the auditorium of Coeur D’Alene High School in northern Idaho. Borrenpohl, who previously ran for an Idaho state House seat as a Democrat, was a vociferous participant in the meeting, and was not shy about addressing local officials out of turn, including hollering at a moderator who asked the audience to pipe down: “Is this a town hall or a lecture?”
After these interruptions, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris approached Borrenpohl and told her to “get up or get escorted out.” When she did not move, Borrenpohl was swarmed by men in dark shirts, who seized Borrenpohl by the arms and legs and literally dragged her from the auditorium.
As seen on video, these men did not wear uniforms or identify themselves, and they ignored audience members who demanded they produce badges. It emerged later that these men were not in fact Norris’ deputies; rather they were affiliated with a private security firm, LEAR Asset Management, which had volunteered its services for the event. (LEAR has since seen the city of Coeur D’Alene revoke its business license, reportedly for posing “an immediate danger to the safety of the public.”)
Late last week, the City Attorney’s office in Coeur D’Alene charged six men with crimes in relation to the town hall event. Four — Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Chistofer Berge, and Jesse Jones — are facing battery and false imprisonment charges. These four, along with a fifth man, also face charges for violating the duties, and the uniform requirements, of “security agents.” A sixth man, apparently not involved with LEAR, Michael Keller, was also charged with battery.
The treatment of Borrenpohl became national news, but a police report of the incident also identifies three other “victims” from the town hall. The city attorney’s charging announcement does not clarify who allegedly victimized whom.
Sheriff Norris is also reportedly under investigation, but neither the Kootenai County Sheriff Department nor the Idaho Attorney General’s office, which has oversight of elected sheriffs, responded to Rolling Stone requests for comment.
On Monday, Borrenpohl filed a “tort claim” — initiating civil litigation — against the sheriff, LEAR, Trouette, Dunne, Jones, and several others, seeking “at least” $5 million in damages.
Her complaint reads in part: “Ms. Borrenpohl was fearful for her safety throughout the time the men assaulted her.” It adds: “Because the men were unidentified, because Sheriff Norris directed them to physically remove her, and because of the manner in which they dragged her from the auditorium, Ms. Borrenpohl feared that she was being kidnapped.”
Wendy Olson, an attorney for Borrenpohl, called the tort claim “the first step” in “pursuing justice for Teresa,” and she added: “We have put the county on notice that its public officials intentionally obstructed Teresa’s constitutional rights and physically assaulted her in the process.”
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