Minnesota attorney general probes company that tried to hire armed guards to monitor polls

‘No one may interfere with or intimidate a voter at a polling place,’ says Keith Ellison

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has announced an investigation into a private security firm that attempted to hire US special operations forces veterans to provide armed security at polling stations in the state.

On Tuesday, Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison announced an investigation into private security firm Atlas Aegis, after civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against the company, according to the Daily Mail.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota chapter and League of Women Voters of Minnesota, filed a lawsuit that accused the company of advertising for armed security personnel on election day and for “post election support missions”.

Mr Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday: “Minnesota and federal law are clear: no one may interfere with or intimidate a voter at a polling place, and no one may operate private armed forces in our state.”

“The presence of private ‘security’ at polling places would violate these laws. It would make no one safer and is not needed or wanted by anyone who runs elections or enforces the law.

“For these reasons, my office is formally investigating Atlas Aegis.”

The civil rights groups asked a Minnesota judge to block Atlas Aegis’ efforts to recruit armed guards and noted a Facebook ad from the company that said it was looking for former US Special Operations military personnel.

The company's ad reportedly said it was looking for the personnel to protect businesses, homes and polling stations from “looting and destruction”, according to the Star Tribune.

The ad, which has since been deleted by the company, said that Atlas Aegis would pay security personnel $700 (£535) each a day to work in Minnesota for the election.

Atlas Aegis Chairman Anthony Caudle told the Washington Post in an interview earlier this month that the ad was real, the civil rights groups claim.

Speaking to the Post, Mr Caudle said that the armed security personnel would not intimidate voters.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “These people are going to be never even seen unless there's an issue. So it's not like they're going to be standing around and only allowing certain people in.

“They're there for protection, that's it. They're there to make sure that the antifas don't try to destroy the election sites.”

Last week, Michigan's secretary of state Jocelyn Benson responded to the potential for voter intimidation across the US, by banning the open carry of guns within 100 feet of voting centres.

Ms Benson, a Democrat, said on a call with journalists including one from the Mail, that “this is not a ban on firearms. This is an effort to protect our voters from intimidation, threats, and harassment on Election Day itself.”

Earlier this month, 13 militia members were arrested and charged over a plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and “try” her in Wisconsin before 3 November’s national election.

Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by two points in Minnesota in 2016, and several polls show a strong lead for the president’s Democratic challenger Joe Biden with 11 days to go until election day.