Fighting Speech with Force: Zip Ties Can’t Hold Forever
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On Saturday, Feb. 22, a town meeting in Boise, Idaho became national news when a woman was forcibly removed by three security workers after interrupting speakers multiple times. This meeting, hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, was staffed with security officers, speakers sharing that audience members would be removed from the event if not showing respect for others.
Despite these warnings, video footage from this town meeting showcased a plethora of audience interaction including cheers and heckles, specifically when the topic of legislation regarding abortion access came into conversation.
Teresa Borrenpohl, a democratic legislative candidate, was one of the audience members shouting responses back at speakers. After being warned at least three times to cease the interruptions, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris instructed Borrenpohl to leave unless she wanted to be escorted out. Upon refusal, footage shows Sheriff Norris signaling a group of plainclothes security guards before he began recording their actions to forcibly remove her.
Reports share that one man bent Borrenpohl’s wrist into a flexed position, while the others continuously grabbed her, attempted to use zip ties to detain her and eventually dragged her out of her seat and onto the floor.
Despite repeatedly asking the men who they were, along with asking Sheriff Norris if they were his deputies, she was met with silence, even as she began to call that she was being assaulted by the men. Borrenpohl has since shared that she feels her right to free speech was forcibly “stripped” away during the entirety of this process.
Controversies surrounding free speech are not new stories in our country. We’ve seen time and time again throughout history that this key pillar of our democracy is not as simple as its outline. Yet, in this situation, there are other factors that play into how the situation unfolded: Borrenpohl was a woman sharing her opinion with words yet was met with violence.
From an early age, I was taught the principle to fight fire with fire, or in other words, respond to other people’s threats with the same methods they are using. I was raised to learn how to deal with conflict and anger with my words and to encourage others to do the same. There was always an understanding in my household that forceful actions would not be tolerated as long as I had a voice to use instead.
Did Borrenpohl receive warnings that her repeated interruptions would lead to her being removed from the meeting? Yes. Were any of her interruptions accompanied by physical actions? No. So, why was the response by security automatically to use force to remove her? When did it become an acceptable action to combat words with violence? When did we decide that force was a suitable response to silencing a woman?
Our society manifests ideas into women’s heads that we are meant to be small on every possible level, preaching the expectation of thinner bodies, quieter voices and taking up the least amount of space manageable. The fight for women to gain the same respect and treatment that men receive is an ongoing, uphill battle, and Borrenpohl’s story is one from many that we can learn from.
We’re living in a time where when women speak, the world often wants them silenced. From this point on, I plan to voice my thoughts louder than ever before and take up as much space as I can.
Strike out,
Ann Harper Covington
Writer: Ann Harper Covington
Editor: Anna Kadet
Athens
Works Cited:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article300919084.html
https://apnews.com/article/idaho-protest-woman-removed-town-hall-b4348df006fe83723f95769a05007098