Six Men Are Charged After Woman Was Dragged From Idaho Town Hall

Six men who prosecutors said took part in forcibly removing a woman from a town-hall meeting hosted by local Republicans in Coeur d’Alene, a small city in northern Idaho, in February are facing charges including battery and false imprisonment.

The Coeur d’Alene Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Monday that four of the men — Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones — face charges of battery and false imprisonment. Along with Alexander Trouette IV, they were also cited for security agent uniform and agent duty violations.

A sixth man, Michael Keller, has been charged with battery, the statement said.

The charges stem from an altercation on Feb. 22 that began when Teresa Borrenpohl heckled speakers at a meeting with state legislators hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

Organizers said that Ms. Borrenpohl, a former Democratic candidate for state office, refused to follow the rules, but she said everyone should be allowed to speak. Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County told Ms. Borrenpohl to leave, pulled at her arm and threatened to arrest and pepper-spray her, according to footage of the incident.

The sheriff gestured to two men beside him, who then approached Ms. Borrenpohl, pulled her to the floor and dragged her out of the high school auditorium where the meeting was being held.

The men were wearing green tactical pants and black tactical shirts, according to a police report. They were later identified as personnel with Lear Asset Management Inc., a private security firm based in California that is licensed in multiple states.

After the episode, the City of Coeur d’Alene revoked Lear’s business license for violating city ordinances that require security agents to wear clearly marked uniforms.

Paul Trouette, who is the chief executive of Lear, said in an email on Monday that the team was confident in its defense. “We believe these charges are false and should have never been made,” he said.

The other defendants could not be reached on Monday, and it was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers. A police report identified Mr. Berg, Mr. Jones and Paul Trouette as the men who had detained and escorted Ms. Borrenphol out of the auditorium. Court documents on the case had not been made public on Monday and no further details about the charges were available.

The city attorney’s office referred inquiries to the Idaho attorney general’s office, which oversees the elected sheriff when he is acting in his official capacity. The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to an email on Monday.

A statement released by Sheriff Norris’s office after the altercation said his office was conducting an investigation. The sheriff’s office did not respond to an email on Monday asking for his response to the charges and whether his office had filed an incident report.

Ms. Borrenpohl did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Susan C. Beachy contributed research.