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Five employees of a Northern California security company known for using controversial tactics have been charged in connection with a February incident in Idaho where a Republican City Hall audience was forced to be removed by a plain cross man.
The man in civilian clothes pulled the women out of their seats, carried them out of the building with their arms and legs, resisted, asking repeatedly who they were.
“Who are these guys?” she screams in the video as an unidentified man grabs her and drives her out of the building.
On Wednesday, an officer with Idaho city of Caul Dahlene said the men came from the security company’s rear asset manager and faced several misdemeanor charges in connection with the incident, including not wearing uniform or visible security identifications. The company’s chief executive Paul Troulete is listed among the defendants and is charged with four counts of battery, two false incarceration and one security agent’s unified violation, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
Four other employees identified as Alex Troutte IV, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones are also facing additional charges, including batteries and false incarceration.
Michael Keller, the sixth person who says authorities are not affiliated with the company, is also charged with battery in connection with the case.
Neither Paul Tourette nor his company responded to requests for comment.
Based in Willits, a small town in Mendocino County town, Lear Asset Management was founded in 2012 by Troulete, according to state records.
The company has attracted clients from the logging industry. It was also appealing to marijuana growers and private landowners seeking to eradicate unlicensed growth.
In operations, the employees were often heavily armed and wore camouflage.
The company was sometimes contracted by companies that clashed with environmentalists.
One activist told SFGate he faced Leah employees while protesting the Humboldt Redwood Co. business.
Sarah Ruttio kept her seated on a tree during the protests from 2019 to 2022, and Leah employees used intimidating tactics such as floodlights, loud music, screaming sounds and harassing them on right-wing talk radio.
According to its website, Lear Asset Management operates primarily in the Pacific Northwest. The company has worked with clients on “large land assets” such as Timber companies, but also works with schools, businesses and private assets.
The company also touts its collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Local Police and Security Bureau, California State Parks, the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
In a 2014 article, the magazine reported that Leah employed around 15 people, including former military personnel who were employed by large property owners to clear illegal pots.
When a video of the February 22 incident in Idaho surfaced, it quickly turned into a virus online, with many people wondering who the man was, as they didn’t wear what kind of uniforms.
Theresa Borenpole, a protester who was fired by an employee, later commented on the incident on Instagram.
“We could not imagine the right to free speech and the right to gather could be stripped of in such a violent way,” she wrote.
Two days after the violent conflict, the city identified the man as an employee of Lear Asset Management.
Borenpole was initially said to have allegedly bitten one of the men, but city officials said the quote had been denied. City officials also revoked Lear Asset Management’s business license for violating city ordinances relating to private security companies.
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