Idaho
Idaho Republican town hall descends into chaos as unidentified men remove activist
An Idaho Republican town hall descended into chaos when a protestor was pulled from her seat, wrestled to the ground and dragged out of a packed auditorium by three unidentified private security guards.
Teresa Borrenpohl of Post Falls was asked to leave the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting at Coeur d’Alene High School on Saturday after she and other activists heckled state GOP lawmakers on stage about several bills working their way through the state’s legislature.
Borrenpohl, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Idaho House as a Democrat in November, said she was “seized” after speaking against state Representative Ron Mendive, she told the Couer d’Alene/Post Falls Press.
“Please get up, or you will be escorted out,” Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris can be heard saying in a video circulating on social media. Borrenpohl said she didn’t recognize Norris at first when he approached her in the dimly lit room wearing jeans and a baseball cap.
“Who the f*** are you?,” Borrenpohl repeatedly asked Norris as he filmed the encounter in the background.
Meanwhile, the event’s emcee Ed Bejarana taunted the woman over the tannoy system.
“Just look at this. This little girl is afraid to leave. She spoke up and now she doesn’t want to suffer the consequences,” he said. Bejarana accused Borrenpohl and others of “filibustering” as he discussed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
After Borrenpohl eventually appeared to recognize the sheriff, one of the men walked towards the woman.
“Excuse me Sheriff Norris… this guy is assaulting me,” she said.
“You, out now. Get her out” Norris replied pointing at Borrenpohl, leading to a second man approaching her.
“Is this your deputy?,” Borrenpohl continued to ask with no response. “Who the f*** are these men? Who are you?”
A third unidentified man then rushed to support as Borrenpohl was dragged to the floor by the wrists and ankles.
Shouts of “step away from her” and “you’re hurting her” can be heard coming from the crowd in the video. Other women are seen holding signs in silent protest, displaying messages such as “Save Voter-Approved Medicaid.”
“Just cooperate, it’ll be 100 times better,” one of the men told Borrenpohl.
After refusing, she was again pulled from her seat before one of the men flopped on her.
Borrepohl was later cited and released for misdemeanor battery after allegedly biting one of the plain-clothed security guards, according to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.
Police Chief Lee White confirmed Sunday that the three men who dragged Borrenpohl from the meeting worked for LEAR Asset Management, a private security firm. Coeur d’Alene city code requires security personnel to wear uniforms “clearly marked” with the word “security”.
Norris, along with town hall organizers, claimed they had no knowledge of the security personnel or who hired them, according to the Couer d’Alene/Post Falls Press
The sheriff said he was invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the town hall and remained onsite due to a recent threat against state Representative Jordan Redman.
The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee condemned the woman’s actions, and in a statement released Sunday, said: “The group vocally cheered any mention of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, erupting in applause and chants, while loudly booing every reference to the Bible or President Donald Trump, drawing sharp rebukes from attendees.”
The Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea also issued a statement Sunday.
“Our Democracy rests on our First Amendment rights. If we can’t question leaders elected to represent us without fear of reprisal, we are not free,” she said.
Necochea said that Kootenai County Republicans “did not intend to allow dialogue between legislators and constituents they serve,” adding that it was a “very sad day” watching Borrenpohl being dragged out by the guards and taunted by the moderator.
The Independent has contacted the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, Kootenai County Sherriff’s Office and LEAR Asset Management for more information.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
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