On Saturday, Feb. 22, Laura Tenneson, Teresa Borrenpohl and other progressives attended the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee's town hall meeting, which was meant to be a mid-session check-in with the county's state legislators. They went to voice their concerns about bills that would impact school funding and repeal the state's Medicaid expansion.
During his opening statements, Brent Regan, chairman of the KCRCC, warned that people not maintaining decorum would be escorted out of the building by security. The meeting, held at Coeur d'Alene High School, would ultimately end in chaos and attract national attention.
Tenneson says she and other activists shouted out as the lawmakers spoke, but many people were also cheering or booing because of contentious legislation, like the "school choice" bill to fund private school expenses, which has since been signed into law.
At one point, the event's emcee, Ed Bejarana, reprimanded Borrenpohl and her group. Video shows Borrenpohl shouted back, "Is this a town hall or a lecture?" Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris confronted Borrenpohl in the audience and said, "Get up, or be arrested."
Video footage shows Norris, wearing civilian clothing and a hat that says "Kootenai County Sheriff," attempting to pull Borrenpohl by the arm to leave, but Borrenpohl said that was a bad idea. Norris stopped and directed two men in dark clothes with no identifiable security labeling to remove Borrenpohl.
She repeatedly requested that the two men identify themselves, then shouted to Norris, "This man is assaulting me. Is this your deputy?"
Tenneson says it was never clear who was responsible for security at the event. She believes their group was singled out because they have been vocal at KCRCC meetings and town halls about North Idaho College, which was on probationary standing and at risk of losing its accreditation until recently.
The men, who the videos show did not identify themselves, restrained Borrenpohl and dragged her out of the auditorium. She bit one of the men.
In the parking lot, Coeur d'Alene police officers cited Borrenpohl with misdemeanor battery and released her, but those charges were soon dismissed.
Tenneson says neither she nor Borrenpohl, who ran as a Democrat for the 5th District state representative position against Rep. Tony Wisniewski, expected things to escalate the way they did. (Wisniewski, a Post Falls Republican, was one of the town hall speakers.)
"I heard Teresa yell out at one point, 'Am I being abducted?' and the look of fear on her face, it was apparent that we were in new territory that we had never been in before," Tenneson says. "I had no idea what was going to happen."
DUST SETTLES
In an emailed statement, Regan tells the Inlander that the town hall was a private event, and Lear Asset Management staff members volunteered their licensed and insured security services. He says that a credible threat to state Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene, necessitated more security, and that the KCRCC notified the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office and Coeur d'Alene Police Department about the threat.
In his statement, Regan says that "Borrenpohl interrupted the speaker at least seven times, shouting insults and preventing 450 attendees from participating — a tactic known as the 'heckler's veto,' where one individual's actions infringe upon the speaker's rights and the assembly's ability to engage.
"The First Amendment does not protect the right to interfere with others' freedoms, and Borrenpohl's behavior crossed this line," Regan's statement argues. "She was warned at least three times to cease her disruptions and was directly asked to leave by the Sheriff — Idaho's supreme law enforcement authority — at least five times."
However, the American Civil Liberties Union says there's a rule against punishing a heckler's veto: If a person is exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, the government is not allowed to shut down the speech just because other people don't like the message being conveyed.
Many in Coeur d'Alene disagree with Regan's assessment of the events, including Ryan Hunter, chief deputy city attorney, who tells the Inlander by email that potential violations of Borrenpohl's constitutional rights began when she was singled out of a crowd of hundreds for shouting an opposing view. Hunter says the charges against Borrenpohl were dropped because of a strong self-defense claim.
"She was being summarily kicked out of a public town hall event taking place in a public school, was not formally trespassed by anyone with authority to do so, and was not accused of having committed any crime prior to being physically seized by individuals who were not identified as security agents or members of law enforcement, refused to identify themselves at all, and lacked any legal authority to act as security agents or physically aggress and detain Dr. Borrenpohl at that time," Hunter wrote. "As a result, she had an incredibly strong self-defense claim that made prosecution untenable and, under these egregious circumstances, contrary to the interests of justice."
Hunter says there's an active investigation into Lear Asset Management but declined to say whether charges could be filed.
MORE FALLOUT
Sgt. Jared Reneau of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department says two police officers were in the parking lot because of a threat made to an elected official the previous day. Police officers weren't aware of what transpired inside the building until after Borrenpohl was removed.
Reneau says the KCRCC is a private entity but advertised its event as a public town hall forum. He says that Coeur d'Alene police had jurisdiction over the event, and if someone had called 911, his officers would have responded.
Reneau says the handling of the event is concerning because one group of people was targeted, but if both sides heckled, then the actions by KCRCC needed to be equal and fair to both disruptive groups.
"They can't just target one group because they don't like their point of view and remove them because of that," Reneau says. "It's important to all of us that the U.S. Constitution affords all citizens the right to free speech."
The municipal services division at Coeur d'Alene City Hall can suspend a security license. After the event, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White recommended that municipal services revoke Lear Asset Management's security license, which they did.
Reneau says Lear violated city code 5.32.050, which states that "Uniforms worn by security agents must be clearly marked with the word 'Security' in letters no less than one inch tall on the front of the uniform, and no less than four inches tall on the back of the uniform."
In a press release, Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson said that no deputies were present or involved in the incident and that an outside agency would conduct an independent investigation
Alicia Abbott, Borrenpohl's colleague, set up a GoFundMe that has raised more than $330,000 for the future litigation against those who may have violated Borrenpohl's First Amendment rights. Tenneson says Borrenpohl, who is not speaking with local media at this time, has hired Wendy Olson from the law firm Stoel Rives as her counsel.
Tenneson says the national, bipartisan support the activists have received underscores the importance of First Amendment rights.
"This event was so blatant and so horrific that we have people on both sides of the aisle stepping up and saying that [Borrenpohl's] First Amendment rights were absolutely violated," Tenneson says. "I don't care if we were saying things they didn't like, because none of those things justify physical assault, none of those things justify the way they treated Teresa that day." ♦
