ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Tennesee-based security company that was searching for armed civilian guards to work polling sites in Minnesota has agreed to end their recruiting, the Minnesota attorney general says.
This week, Attorney General Keith Ellison's office said it had launched an investigation into Atlas Aegis, which Ellison said had sought people to work as private security at polling places.
In a statement, the attorney general said having private security patrol polling locations would be a violation of state and federal law. Ellison also said his office was working to determine why the company was looking for guards and who had hired Atlas Aegis for this job.
Friday, however, Ellison said his office had not received written assurance that Atlas Aegis would stop recruiting and wouldn't provide security service for Election Day polls.
In the assurance, the company said it had begun looking for guards after getting notification from industry contacts of a staffing request. However, the company now says it didn't fully understand the scope of the request -- and the request wasn't actually looking for security at polling locations.
Along with ending its search for guards on Election Day, Atlas Aegis has also agreed not to provide any protective agent services in Minnesota through January 1, 2022.
If Atlas Aegis fails to abide by the agreement, they could face a $50,000 fine, Ellison added.
The agreement comes just before the security firm is set to face a court hearing on Monday on the election patrols.