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It is concerning to see noncommissioned people potential working as armed poll watchers.

Minnesota’s attorney general has started an investigation into job postings from an out-of-state company hiring armed poll watchers for Election Day.

The job posting was listed by Atlas Aegis, a Tennessee company, and sought applications from ex-soldiers for “security positions in Minnesota during the November Election and beyond to protect election polls, local businesses and residences from looting and destruction.”

The now-deleted job advertisement reportedly offered a $700 daily salary with a $210 per diem for things such as food, hotels and rental cars.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Atlas Aegis chairman Anthony Caudle reportedly said the company’s hired guards aimed to protect against “Antifas” and Black Lives Matter supporters who aimed to destroy Minnesota election sites.

However, according to a recent investigation by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, this Election Day help is neither wanted nor needed. In fact, Ellison says hiring these armed poll watchers is a violation of the law.

“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,” Ellison said in a statement, according to ABC News. “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.”

Ellison’s investigation demands that Caudle must respond to the Minnesota attorney general within 10 days.

In addition to facing an investigation from the Minnesota attorney general, Atlas Aegis and Caudle face a lawsuit from two Minnesota groups — the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota.

According to these groups, the idea of armed poll watchers at voting sites on election day is frightening and “chillingly resonates with the recent rise of vigilante extremism.”

The groups argue the purported poll watchers don’t plan to actually protect polling sites on Election Day. Instead, the armed guards allegedly aim to intimidate people with certain political beliefs.

It is concerning to consider civilian armed poll watchers this election day.

Unfortunately, this threat is “terrifyingly credible” to the plaintiffs due to the concrete steps Atlas Aegis has taken to hire armed poll watchers. In fact, some Minnesota voters may have already been intimidated by the future threat of these armed guards.

According to the groups, the defendants’ attempt to “sabotage a free and fair election” through intimidation violates the Voting Rights Act. This act was notable during the Civil Rights movement for attempting to ensure the right to vote of minorities and prohibiting discrimination against disenfranchised groups.

The law also prohibits the intimidation, threatening, or coercion of voters — a statute the plaintiffs argue Atlas Aegis has violated.

“The threat of privately funded, heavily armed militias prowling polling sites is a direct assault on the Voting Rights Act and our democracy,” plaintiffs’ attorneys told the Star Tribune.

In addition naming Atlas Aegis and Caudle in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs also include other anonymous defendants.

One such group is the “John Doe 1” defendant, included based on the original job posting. In the listing, Atlas Aegis reportedly claimed to be working with a licensed Minnesota security firm.

John Does 2 through 10 are also included as unnamed defendants based on the job listing. These defendants reportedly include a “consortium of business owners and concerned citizens” hired by John Doe 1 and Atlas Aegis to provide armed poll watchers in Minnesota.

Although the identities of these defendants aren’t known by the plaintiffs, the lawsuit contends they must also be held accountable by the courts.

The plaintiffs seek a court order that would require the defendants to cease recruiting armed agents for Election Day and would prohibit them from deploying these poll watchers on Election Day or during the counting of the votes afterward. The plaintiffs also ask for attorneys’ fees and court costs.

What are your plans for voting during this uncertain election season? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Julia Dayton Klein and Amy Erickson of Lathrop GPM LLP; John Bonifaz, Ronald Fein and Ben Clements of Free Speech for People; and Jonathan S. Abady, Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, O. Andrew F. Wilson, Debra L. Greenberger and Vivake Prasad of Emery Celli Brinckeroff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.

The Minnesota Election Day Poll Watchers Lawsuit is Council on American-Islamic Relations – Minnesota, et al. v. Atlas Aegis LLC, et al., Case No. 0:20-cv-02195-NEB-BRT, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

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One thought on Minn. Attorney General Investigating Company Accused of Hiring Armed Guards as Poll Watchers

  1. Robert Goudin says:

    Add me please

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