Charged after violent town hall

Employees of California mercenary group charged after violent town hall

Charges include battery and false imprisonment

By Matt LaFever

A Northern California private security firm known for raiding cannabis farms and clashing with environmental activists is now facing criminal charges after some of its agents violently removed a protester from a recent Republican town hall in Idaho.

The Coeur d’Alene City Attorney’s Office told SFGATE that five Lear Asset Management employees are facing charges stemming from the incident. CEO Paul Trouette was charged with four counts of misdemeanor battery, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count each for violating security uniform and duty regulations. The other four men face a mix of similar charges for their roles in the protester’s removal. A sixth man not affiliated with the security firm also faces charges.

The charges stem from a legislative town hall organized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee at Coeur d’Alene High School on Feb. 22. Video of the incident recorded by attendee Tonya Jean, obtained by SFGATE, shows three plainclothes operatives, later identified by police as Lear employees, descending on protester Teresa Borrenpohl. The men are seen grabbing her arms and legs and dragging her face‑down through the aisle, ignoring her repeated demands: “You refuse to identify yourselves. Who are you? Who are you.” 

In the wake of the incident, city officials revoked Lear Asset Management’s business license for violating Coeur d’Alene City ordinances. None of the operatives wore a uniform or displayed visible security ID, a direct breach of Coeur d’Alene’s municipal code, which requires “SECURITY” in 1‑inch-tall letters on the front and 4‑inch-tall letters on the back of private‑agent attire. 

Immediately after the town hall, Borrenpohl, a former Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives, said on Instagram, “I could have never imagined my right to free speech and my right to assemble could be stripped in such a violent way.”

Borrenpohl has filed a $5 million civil claim against Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris and Lear Asset Management. She alleges they violated her constitutional rights and physically assaulted her for exercising free speech at a public event.

In response to SFGATE’s request for comment, Troutette said, “You are not a trustworthy reporter, we have no intention of giving you anything, so you can just spin. Let’s see if you print that.” In a statement given to the New York Times, Trouette said, “We believe these charges are false and should have never been made.”

Lear’s tactics on the North Coast have long drawn controversy, as SFGATE previously reported. Timber companies contracted the firm to patrol remote forestlands; cannabis growers hired it to eradicate unlicensed grows. In response to tree‑sitting protests, operatives trained floodlights on activists, deployed drones and blared loudspeaker recordings of distressed wildlife or political talk shows. Environmentalists have accused Lear of psychological intimidation and physical harassment.