COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Early afternoon on Monday, February 24 the Coeur d’Alene Police Department released a statement regarding the investigation into the incident that transpired during a Republican town hall on Saturday, February 22 involving Democrat Teresa Borrenpohl.
“Since the initial investigation, officers and detectives have continued to investigate this incident,” the agency said in its press release. “After reviewing all new evidence and video related to the event, the City Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has moved to dismiss the citation against Borrenpohl in the interest of justice.”
Prior to the Monday afternoon update from the agency, Kootenai Journal had sent an email directly to City Prosecutor Randy Adams seeking clarification into the incident since conflicting statements about the charges against Borrenpohl had been reported.
At 8:51 a.m. on Monday, February 24, an automatic reply from Adams was returned. The reply stated in part, “I will be out of the office from Wednesday, February 12, through Wednesday, February 26. I will have limited ability to respond to emails. If you need immediate assistance, please contact my assistant Juanita.”
It is unclear at this time how thorough the review of the evidence was by the prosecutor’s office during his apparent absence and whether or not he was involved in the review.
Kootenai Journal has requested additional information into the incident and investigation from the city police and the city prosecutor.
The politically charged incident quickly spread across social media and other media outlets. It sparked outrage from both sides of the political aisle and set off debates about free speech. Arguments into whether the event was private or public have ensued and questions have been raised as to why security personnel removed Borrenpohl instead of police. It has caused backlash against the event emcee Ed Bejarana for “taunting” and raised questions regarding Sheriff Bob Norris involvement. It has resulted in public ridicule of Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White for what some community members believe is a double standard in applying the law.
“Recent statements by Coeur d’Alene Police Department Chief White raise troubling questions about equal protection under the law,” posted the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) on Facebook. “Following the KCRCC townhall—where Teresa Borrenpohl was removed and cited for persistent disruptions after repeated warnings—Chief White stated to the media, ‘I don’t care what your message is… We have to respect everybody’s First Amendment rights, regardless of what side of the aisle you happen to sit on’.” The KCRCC posted a video of White in which he warns that disruptions to a city meeting will result in removal, which some view as conflicting with his stance on the incident at the town hall.
Borrenpohl ran as a Democrat for an Idaho House of Representative seat in District 5 several times. In the 2024 November election, Republican Tony Wisniewski beat Borrenpohl with a 57.8% margin.
It was during Rep. Wisniewski’s comments about the Medical Ethics Defense Act that Borrenpohl’s interruptions placed the town hall into disarray. Prior to this, Borrenpohl and other individuals in attendance had shouted comments and loudly booed while legislators were speaking, disturbing the event multiple times. Much of the disruption was caused by individuals who came to the Republican event with political signs to protest legislative efforts in education and welfare reform.
Borrenpohl is well-known in the community as a Democrat activist. She has taken part in several disturbances at North Idaho College over the last few years and was positively identified as the person who pulled a fire alarm at the board meeting on December 10, 2022, resulting in an evacuation and response by first responders—the Coeur d’Alene City prosecutor declined to press charges. She obstructed media cameras during the board meeting on October 25, 2023, where she also harassed a conservative trustee.
Republican Precinct Committeewoman Mary White told Kootenai Journal that police were called to a polling location during the 2024 election in response to complaints about Borrenpohl.
Kootenai County resident Ann Seddon recounted an experience from 2021 in which Borrenpohl took a clipboard with a petition against CRT in schools that Seddon was circulating for signatures before the start of a Coeur d’Alene School Board of Trustee meeting. “She did not return the petition full of signatures to me after I requested it’s return a number of times,” stated Seddon. “After I spoke to a police officer who was present, she gave the officer the clipboard, who then returned it to me.”
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), and the City of Coeur d’Alene all issued statements concerning the incident on Monday afternoon.
“The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the incident involving Sheriff Norris at the town hall event on Saturday, February 22,” stated the release through Undersheriff Brett Nelson. “For clarification, there were NO Kootenai County Deputy Sheriff’s or other personnel present at or involved in this incident.”
The brief statement concluded with, “KCSO will have a complete and independent investigation of the incident conducted by an outside agency.”
The BOCC statement reminded the public that its office has no association with the incident. “We ask that people consider allowing for the investigation to finish before drawing conclusions,” stated the release.
In its release, the City of Coeur d’Alene stated the mayor and council were “united in our support of equal protection under the law for every citizen.”
“We support the efforts of our Chief of Police and department personnel in investigating the incident involving a citizen that occurred at the Legislators Town Hall Meeting on February 22,” the release stated. “As City leaders we have a long history of strongly supporting human rights, civil rights, and dignity for all.”
*Edited to include Ms. Seddon’s experience which was provided after publication.
