COEUR d'ALENE — When Teresa Borrenpohl decided to attend a legislative town hall put on by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, she said it was because she wanted local elected leaders to receive feedback from a broad spectrum of constituents. 

That’s what she told a jury Tuesday morning as she recounted the events of Feb. 22, when a group of unidentified security personnel dragged her out of the auditorium at Coeur d’Alene High School after she repeatedly spoke out of turn. 

“I understand a town hall to be a place where the community gathers and interacts with their elected representatives,” she said. 

Borrenpohl was one of three people who testified Tuesday that Paul Trouette battered them during the chaotic legislative town hall at CHS. 

City prosecutors charged Trouette, the owner of the security firm Lear Asset Management, with four counts of battery, two counts of false imprisonment and citations for security agent uniform and duties violations, all misdemeanors. 

Defense counsel for Trouette assert that he and other security personnel acted at the behest of Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, making their actions inherently lawful. 

Prosecutors allege that Trouette battered several people without orders from Norris. 

As the town hall got underway, Borrenpohl said many people in the auditorium were responding negatively to the legislators' comments, including her. For example, one legislator's remark that "cross breeding of human genes and animal genes is not too far off in the future" sparked shouts of disagreement from the crowd. 

After the emcee admonished those who disagreed, Borrenpohl shouted, "Is this a town hall or a lecture?" 

Norris approached her and told her to leave or be arrested. 

Borrenpohl said she didn't recognize the sheriff at first because he was dressed in jeans and a baseball cap, not a law enforcement uniform. She said she believed him to be off duty. She did not leave. 

To Borrenpohl's right sat Gregg Johnson, an interior designer who lives in Coeur d'Alene. When Norris told Johnson to get up, he complied and stepped back.

Borrenpohl said Norris twisted her wrist, then grabbed her shoulder and pulled. When she stayed in her seat, Norris threatened to pepper spray her. 

"I was shocked," she said. "In that moment, I realized this wasn't going to de-escalate. We were in a room with 400 people. To use pepper spray on me would be to use pepper spray on everyone." 

Norris stepped back and appeared to beckon to two plainclothes security personnel, who approached Borrenpohl. She repeatedly asked who they were and if they were sheriff's deputies; they gave no answer. 

The men grabbed her arms, she said, "forcefully" twisting and pulling, then hauled her from her seat. 

Johnson said he was alarmed to see what the men were doing. 

"Hey, leave her alone," he shouted. 

He said someone grabbed him from behind and forcibly turned him around. It was Norris, who said he would arrest Johnson. 

"Do you want to go to jail?" Norris said. "You're going to jail." 

Norris held Johnson's left arm, he said, and Trouette appeared at his right side. The men "hustled" Johnson out of the auditorium and into the hall, where they pushed him against a wall, kicked his legs to force them open and held his hands behind his back. 

"You would've thought I was a 23-year-old drunk at the Beacon downtown," Johnson said. "Let's say it was aggressive." 

Johnson said no one told him why he was being detained. 

In the auditorium, the two plainclothes security personnel had pushed Borrenpohl to the floor, face down. One of the men sat on her, while another planted his knee between her shoulder blades. She said they pulled her hair and their grip on her limbs got tighter. 

"It was incredibly painful," she said. "I was just trying to keep my airway open." 

Now joined by Trouette, video showed the men drag Borrenpohl across the floor by her arms. She lost her shoes and her shirt came up, fully exposing her bra. 

"It was completely violating," she said. "It was dehumanizing." 

Borrenpohl said the red marks that appeared on her body the day of the town hall turned into bruises. 

"I had fingerprints on my breasts," she said. "I had bruising on my hip. I had cuts and lacerations." 

Sarah Forsgren, a mental health counselor who lives in Coeur d'Alene, said she left the auditorium amid the chaos because she felt unsafe. Outside, she saw the security team dragging Borrenpohl into the hall. 

"Teresa looked terrified," she told the court. 

Forsgren said she moved aside and watched for a moment before speaking out. 

"I said, 'Stop touching her, get your hands off her,'" she said. 

Video footage showed Trouette push Forsgren against a wall. 

"When I turned my body away from him, he grabbed my left breast and then my right," she said. 

She said Trouette refused to tell her who he was. He tried to zip-tie her hands, but stopped and went to help the other security personnel hold Borrenpohl down. 

"I was shocked and scared," Forsgren said. 

The trial continues today.