Wife towed from the Republican town hall of Idaho complains for $ 5 million

When Teresa Borrenpohl from one Idaho Town Hall in February about its aggressive interrogation of Republican officials-through dark dressed men who refused to identify themselves to tear it out a scene The story of the Handmaw, Full of a man on stage who mocked her: “She spoke and now she doesn’t want to experience the consequences.”

The incident led to national headlines, including coverage in The New York Times. And when Borrenpohl was initially quoted with battery For the resistance, the matter seemed like a dark harbinger for the erosion of civil freedoms in the new Trump era.

However, in the last few days the legal system seems to be rectying. The Coeur d’Alene City Attorney has submitted battery and false prison sentence arising from the incident of the town hall. Borrenpohl has moved separately to submit a $ 5 million court case against the sheriff; The men who dragged her out of the town hall; And others blame her injuries, both constitutional and physical.

The nightmare of the first amendment unfolded in the afternoon of 22 February during a town hall meeting of the Republican Central Committee of Kootenai County, held in the Auditorium of Coeur d’Alene High School in the north of Idaho. Borrenpohl, who rather ran to a chair of Idaho State House as Democrat, was a noisy participant in the meeting and was not shy to address local officials outside of the turn, including screaming at a moderator who asked the audience to pusse: “Is this a town hall or a lecture?”

After these interruptions, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris Borris Borrispohl approached and told her that she should ‘go up or accompany’. When she did not move, Borrenpohl was swollen by men in dark shirts, who seized Borrenpohl through the arms and legs and literally dragged her out of the auditorium.

As you can see on video, these men did not wear uniforms or identified themselves, and they ignored public members who demanded that they produced badges. It later appeared that these men were in fact not the representatives of Norris; They were previously affiliated with a private security company, Lear Asset Management, which had presented itself for the event for the event. (Lear has since the city of Coeur d’Alene withdrawing its business license, Reportedly to form “an immediate danger to the safety of the public.”)

At the end of last week, the office of the city lawyer in Coeur d’Alene accused six men of crimes in relation to the town hall event. Vier – Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Chistofer Berge and Jesse Jones – are confronted with battery and false imprisonment. Together with a fifth man, these four are also confronted with charges for violating the tasks and the uniform requirements, of ‘security agents’. A sixth man, apparently not involved with Lear, Michael Keller, was also accused of battery.

The treatment of Borrenpohl became national news, but one Police report Of the incident, three other “victims” from the town hall also identify. The announcement of the city procurer does not clarify who is reportedly desired.

Sheriff Norris is reportedly also investigatedBut neither the Sheriff Department of Kootenai County nor the office of the Attorney General of Idaho, which supervises chosen sheriffs, responded to Rolling stone Requests for comments.

On Monday, BorrenPohl served an “unlawful act” – in initiating civil lawsmaks – against the sheriff, learning, trouette, thin, jones and various others, looking for “at least” $ 5 million in compensation.

Her complaint is partly: “Mrs. Borrenpohl was afraid of her safety during the time the men attacked her.” It adds: “Because the men were not identified, because Sheriff Norris ordered them to physically remove her, and because of the way they dragged her out of the auditorium, Mrs. Borrenpohl feared that she was abducted.”

Wendy Olson, a lawyer for Borrenpohl, called the unlawful act claim “the first step” in “justice for Teresa,” and she added: “We have noticed the province that his government officials deliberately obstructed the constitutional rights of Teresa and in the Process Physically abused.”