COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The removal of a woman from an Idaho town hall meeting on Saturday sparked controversy and questions about the extent of free speech.
On February 22, Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl was forcibly removed from a legislative town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.
You can watch the incident . WARNING there is graphic language.
Dr. Borrenpohl and her supporters argue the removal was a violation of her first amendment rights. KCRCC and it’s supporters say she was being disruptive and was asked to leave multiple times.
Legal experts said the case is complicated due to the integration of private entities and the way Dr. Borrenpohl was treated.
The town hall event was documented as public, but was called a private event by KCRCC.
Erica Goldberg, Gonzaga University law professor and first amendment expert, said that while one can be removed from a town hall meeting for making disruptions, there must be valid reasoning for the actions.
“The law is pretty clear that she can be removed from these events,” Goldberg said. “If she hadn’t been that disruptive and they were either targeting her because they didn’t like her, or because of her viewpoints, then that could present an serious first amendment problem.”
How she was removed poses more of an issue for University of Idaho law professor, John Rumel.
Dr. Borrenpohl was removed by employees of a private security company. The company has since had it’s business license suspended due to the fact that they violated city code by not wearing anything identifying them as security.
“You could call law enforcement just as you would if someone was in your home and basically disrupting things and you’ve asked them to leave and they won’t leave,” Rumel said.
Professor Goldberg said the main question is why Borrenpohl was removed.
“She has some speech rights, but she has no speech rights to repeatedly disrupt that event, but the government cannot target her and say, ‘We don’t like your viewpoint so, we’re going to remove you,'” she said.
Dr. Borrenpohl is said to be pursuing legal representation.
The Coeur d’Alene Police Department is investigating the incident and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal investigation into Sheriff Bob Norris’ involvement.
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