Facts Over Fear: Idaho woman attacked by "secret security force"

FACE YOUR FEARS: An Attack on One is an Attack on All

As many of you may have seen this weekend, a woman was forcibly dragged out of a town hall event in Idaho after asking a question, interrupting the speaker.

This video has circulated widely on social media, and the woman, Teresa Borrenpohl of Post Falls, Idaho, is seen sitting in the crowd during the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting at Coeur d'Alene High School on Saturday before being approached by two men without badges.

She and others were asking 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, according to the Couer d’Alene/Post Falls Press.

The men who refused to identify themselves, instead grabbed at her arms in an effort to force her up from her chair for shouting at a town hall—a protected right in the United States. As it escalates, the men start to yank her limbs, to the point that Borrenpohl yells out to the sheriff, “This man is assaulting me! Is this your deputy? Is he a deputy?"

To make it all more insulting, the event's emcee Ed Bejarana, taunted the woman over the sound 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 DOGE. Using the term "little girl" is often a way that men infantilize grown women in an effort to diminish or demean them.

Yahoo News reported yesterday that 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.

I was horrified watching this woman being grabbed at as people watched and recorded -- but no one really intervened. I started to think about how women are being forced out of public spaces. They don't want to see us, hear from us or deal with the reality that we demand and deserve bodily autonomy free from assault or surveillance.

REALITY CHECK: All of these issues connect when you recognize that women's bodies no longer belong to themselves.

We are being denied life saving healthcare procedures. The rate of sepsis has shot up 50% in Texas, for instance, where abortion has been banned since 2021. Missouri has introduced legislation to create a registry of pregnant women who are "at risk" of having an abortion. They are calling it the "e-Harmony for babies," which is demented all on its own.

Vice President JD Vance has been very open to a national abortion ban, as well as voiced support for using the federal government to prevent women from crossing state lines for abortion care . He also signed a letter, with several other Republican lawmakers, opposing the Biden administration's efforts to protect women’s private medical records from being shared with law enforcement, according to NY1.

The proposed SAVE Act would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. This means women who have changed their names due to marriage may be one of the groups who faces challenges providing their birth certificate, impacting their right to vote.

According to American Progress, government issued driver’s licenses — including REAL IDs — as well as military or tribal IDs do not satisfy the bill’s requirements. It would fundamentally change the way we register to vote, make mail-in registration applications impossible and eliminate voter registration drives. voting would become a privilege for the very few. We should be expanding the right to vote, especially in a country where a lack of voter turnout, not fraud, is the issue.

Let me remind these pathetic, weak, simple-minded authoritarian wannabe beta dogs that we are not "little girls." We are strong, defiant, independent and on the right side of history. And I know there are millions out there who stand with me to support our collective rights. An attack on one is an attack on all. What is your act of resistance today?

NEWS TO NOTE: Ways to activate today

1. Call you representative and ask them to OPPOSE the proposed budget resolution up for a vote tomorrow. We only need two Republicans to oppose it and it will FAIL! This budget deal would cut $880 BILLION in programs under the House Energy and Commerce Committee — and will most likely include Medicaid on that chopping block. 202-224-3121

2. Call your representative and senators and ask them to OPPOSE the SAVE Act that has been introduced in the house. 202-224-3121

3. Email a member of the House and Senate Judiciary committees and ask them to take next steps on HR 25/84/S2768 - The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act. Healthcare workers on are on the front lines and dedicate their lives in service to others. Everyone should feel safe while at work and protected from violence.

   We keep each other safe. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other. In solidarity, Natalie

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