Woman dragged out of Idaho town hall pursuing legal representation
By Alexandra Coenjaerts
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KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho (KXLY) — The woman dragged out of a Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting this weekend is perusing litigation.
In a surprise move, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris decided to not make a planned statement Tuesday. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department said it is doing a criminal investigation and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office announced they are holding a separate independent investigating by an outside agency.
Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl was forcibly removed from Saturday’s meeting by security guards from Lear Asset Management, a private security firm, that KCRCC said volunteered to monitor the town hall meeting. Her close friend Alice Abbott started a GoFundMe within hours after hearing Dr. Borrenpohl talk about how overwhelming the experience was.
Dr. Borrenpohl was removed from the meeting by two Lear Asset Management employees that KCRCC said volunteered to monitor the town hall meeting.
The event on Saturday had multiple legislators in attendance and quickly became disorganized.
Those in support of Dr. Borrenpohl argue the way she was treated is an evident violation of the first amendment.
“It’s our freedom of speech,” Abbott said. “That is a contract between us and our government and our elected officials. When they are doing everything in their power to silence us, they need to expect some sort of dissent.”
The GoFundMe created for Dr. Borrenpohl’s legal expenses had a goal of $30,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has raised over $260,000 from donors across the world.
Abbott said these funds will help Dr. Borrenpohl find lawyers specifically for civil rights cases in Idaho.
“It is hard to find lawyers for any kind of civil rights action in Idaho, just on its face, so to meet that challenge without financial support is almost insurmountable at time,” Abbott said.
KCRCC said it is confident there was no violation of the first amendment at Saturday’s town hall.
“It has nothing to do with what [Borrenpohl] said, it is just how she was saying it. People couldn’t hear what was going on because she was screaming,” said KCRCC Chairman Brent Regan.
Coeur d’Alene Police are still investigating the incident.
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