COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Law enforcement agencies in Kootenai County are preparing for protests planned in Coeur d’Alene this weekend.
Several protests are scheduled across North Idaho, including one against the Trump administration and its policies on Highway 95 around Appleway Avenue. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office plans to have a large presence during the demonstrations.
The Indivisible Project organized the protest. The same group held a peaceful demonstration outside Representative Russ Fulcher’s office earlier this month.
“We want it to stay peaceful and we’re going to do all we can to make sure it stays that way,” said Sgt. Jared Reneau of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.
Law enforcement plans a much larger presence for this weekend’s protests.
“We don’t go into specifics about how we’re planning to do that, but obviously, we’ve significantly increased our staffing levels because the safety of everybody in town is our number one priority,” Reneau said.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris supports protesters’ rights to free speech. However, he says any destruction of property or acts of violence on Saturday will be met with a swift and lawful response.
The Sheriff’s Office will work with Coeur d’Alene Police and Idaho State Police to keep the protests under control. They can ask for backup from law enforcement agencies across state lines if needed.
“Spokane is big enough that they have some specialized units that we don’t have. They have a bomb squad, for example. If we ever have an incident that involves something that we need those folks to come out, they are more than willing to come out any time that we need them to,” Reneau said.
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