Is Your Voice Meaningless in Idaho?
A culture of extremism and authoritarianism culminates in the public humiliation and violent removal of a local Democrat activist for daring to dissent.
Public town halls are meant to be a forum for citizens to engage with their elected representatives, ask tough questions, and hold them accountable. However, when those representatives serve only the political machine that put them in office, these events become nothing more than staged performances. That was the case at the February 22nd town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC). Frustration over the legislators’ refusal to listen to anyone outside their ideological bubble escalated into a confrontation that ended in national outrage. This violent spectacle exposed the depths of the far-right’s authoritarian grip on North Idaho.
Brent Regan, Bob Norris, Ed Bejarana, and their network of ideological enforcers ensured the world saw what they stood for—control, suppression, and punishment of dissent.
The viral video of Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl being violently dragged out of the town hall by unmarked security operatives—while the crowd, primed by years of dehumanizing propaganda, cheered—was not an unfortunate overreaction. It appeared to be a performance meant to send a clear message: In North Idaho, if you dare challenge Regan’s political machine, you will be silenced, humiliated, and crushed.
When Ed Bejarana sneered from the stage, “Your voice is meaningless,” he was not just speaking in the heat of the moment. He was telling the brutal truth about how Idaho’s Republican Party has been hijacked by a coalition of far-right extremists who do not answer to voters—they answer only to the political puppet masters who finance and direct their every move. It was a rare glimpse of honesty from those who traffic in misinformation and lies.
How Idaho’s GOP Became a Cult of Tyranny
The Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), IFPAC, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), and the dark money networks run by the likes of Cliff Maloney Citizens Alliance political machine funnel millions into Idaho’s elections to ensure that only loyalists to their authoritarian cause remain in power. These groups exist to control legislators, school boards, library boards, city councils, and law enforcement leadership, ensuring that governance in Idaho is dictated not by the people but by the ideological extremists who control these political networks.
Brent Regan and his far-right political machine have perfected the art of enforcing ideological purity. Through loyalty oaths, party purity tests, and rigid adherence to an approved doctrine, they ensure that any deviation from their extremist agenda is met with swift retribution. Candidates seeking their endorsement must pledge unwavering allegiance to their platform while sitting legislators are kept in check through public shaming, primary threats, and political exile. To dissent is to be labeled a traitor, a RINO, or worse. This is not conservatism—it is ideological enforcement masquerading as governance, the very definition of extremism.
Dorothy Moon, the Idaho GOP chair and a longtime John Birch Society member, is a key figure in this machine. Under her leadership, the party has abandoned all pretense of traditional conservatism in favor of authoritarian rule. Candidates backed by a network led by Brent Regan, Heather Lauer, Doyle Beck, and Bryan Smith don’t campaign on issues—they take marching orders from party bosses.
Once installed in positions of power, these officials do not serve their constituents. They serve only the interests of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, the KCRCC, and their benefactors. They have no tolerance for opposition, no interest in public discourse, and no intention of allowing non-loyalists to participate in the democratic process.
Watch any debate on critical legislative issues where Idahoans’ rights and benefits are at risk of being stripped away in favor of some far-right agenda item that financially benefits one of their dark money donors. An overwhelming majority of voters can speak out in opposition, but their words are ignored—the outcome was predetermined before any hearing or debate even began. This is the purpose of enforcement tools like the Idaho Freedom Index and the conveniently shifting Idaho GOP platform, both of which have been co-opted and weaponized to serve the interests of Regan’s merry gang of so-called conservatives.
Was This All Planned?
Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl was not just a disruptive town hall attendee; it appears she was the target of an orchestrated setup. Regan and Norris knew who she was before the event. She had challenged their power, and they may have wanted to make an example of her. A humiliating video of her getting dragged out of the auditorium would ensure she might never show her face at a public event again.
This is a textbook case of reactive abuse—after years of relentless attacks, a scenario is orchestrated and designed to provoke a reaction, only to weaponize that response against the target.
Had uniformed police officers been called to ask her to leave calmly, the situation would have de-escalated. But that does not appear to have been the plan. Instead, they unleashed unmarked, unbadged security officers—men who refused to identify themselves and had questionable authority to lay hands on a citizen.
Knowing this individual might speak out, it appeared they were waiting to target her. Videos show that Sheriff Norris seemed prepared to single out Borrenpohl. Once she made an outburst and ignored his attempt to pull her out, Norris directed the security team to physically drag her out in the most violent and humiliating way possible, with Dave Reilly there to capture it on camera and use it as fuel for their propaganda machine.
Ed Bejarana could have used his role as MC to de-escalate and calm the situation. Instead, he used inflammatory taunts from the stage designed to agitate and incite a response. It worked perfectly, drawing more outbursts and jeers from both sides of the aisle.
The response from the crowd loyal to Regan cheered as Borrenpohl was removed by force, proving that the conditioning of this political cult had worked precisely as intended. Dave Reilly got his footage, and Regan and his friends launched memes suggesting that Democrats were cannibals.
The Victim Shaming Playbook
In the days following the incident, the KCRCC and its media operatives immediately went into spin mode. Their first defense was to double down on the lie that the event was a private function—a falsehood swiftly dismantled by the Coeur d'Alene School District’s statement confirming that it was presented to them as a public event. They turned to victim-shaming, calling Borrenpohl an agitator and suggesting that she deserved the treatment she received.
Remember, Regan’s followers practice a form of Christian Nationalism that views empathy as a tool of Lucifer to make you weak. In their eyes, her not shutting up while the men were speaking meant she brought the violence upon herself. This is the same ideologically aligned group that wants to dismantle CPS because beating their wives and children is their “parental right.”
This victim-shaming follows a familiar pattern. It’s the same tactic they used when disgraced former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger was convicted of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern. Instead of supporting the victim, Regan’s IFF network shared articles doxxing her and attempted to shield von Ehlinger from the consequences of his actions because he was a “True Conservative.”
The same confrontational playbook is being used against Borrenpohl. It was not enough to watch her get physically assaulted and traumatically humiliated; Regan’s followers needed to stay angry, and the GoFundMe for Borrenpohl that has raised over $300,000 in support of her legal fight has them searching for creative ways to keep hurting her.
They appear to be coordinating a mass flagging campaign to have the funds frozen, a cruel attempt to punish their perceived enemy further.
And now that charges against Borrenpohl have been dropped, Regan’s followers are turning their attacks on the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and local city officials, suggesting that law enforcement must be infiltrated by “leftists” because they refused to go along with their authoritarian charade.
This Is What Tyranny Looks Like
The brutal removal of Borrenpohl was not just about silencing a single person—it was a public demonstration of power meant to intimidate all who opposed them. This is the authoritarian playbook in action: condition followers through the language of elimination to dehumanize their enemies, then justify violence against them.
Regan’s behavior is a masterclass in modern tyranny. This isn’t carried out by dictators in military uniforms—it’s executed by men who lurk in the back of the room, orchestrating their will and enforcing it through their loyalists.
They are backed by a small army of radicalized California political refugees who cheer as dissenters are dragged away. They install library board members who will ban books while pretending to care about parental rights. They use so-called “Liberty Legislators” to grandstand vaccine conspiracies and mask mandates while ignoring the real problems facing Idaho families. And, to ensure compliance, their local constitutional sheriff appears to answer to Brent Regan instead of the citizens he swore an oath to protect. It’s tyranny falsely peddled as conservatism.
Fight Like Hell
If Idaho Republicans across the state do not speak out now, we are complicit in this tyranny. Brent Regan, Bob Norris, and every individual involved in this disgraceful abuse of power must be held accountable. Demand their resignations. Censure them in County Republican Central Committee meetings. Do everything to distance the Idaho Republican brand away from this group of tyrants.
Republicans must decide: will we continue to be ruled by an unelected cabal of extremists who openly embrace political violence to enforce their strict ideologies? Or will we reclaim our party from the tyrannical authoritarians who have hijacked it?
What happened to Teresa Borrenpohl was not ok. Her disruptions, though inappropriate, were equal to the kind of disruptions the far right deploys against other Republicans at meetings all over the state. The response was wildly disproportionate, and the perpetrators must be held accountable through all legal means available.
Our founding fathers were wise enough to create two boxes in our Constitution for the people to vanquish tyranny. The ballot box is our first and best choice to solve this problem. Republicans don’t ever want to be forced to use the second.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican. His articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho.
Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
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Thank you, Keep up your Work. A 70 plus year Idaho Resident, born in Caldwell. These things have went on for, well as long as i have been Alive, With a Few Breaks, During Andrus and Frank Church and a few others, It has Truly Grown Worse in the Time Trump became involved in Pre Obama Years of 2007 to Present. Oh MY , that's 18 years, a WHOLE GENERATION ! That is "SAD".
Great thoughts as always.