Judge bars security company from deploying armed guards near Minnesota polling places
(FOX 9) - A federal judge has barred a Tennessee-based security company from deploying armed agents within 2,500 feet of polling places in Minnesota or intimidating or threatening voters.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit against the company, Atlas Aegis, after it took out ads searching for former military members to provide armed security at Minnesota polls.
Security company that sought armed election security in Minnesota appears in court
A national ad recruiting former military members to provide armed security in Minnesota on Election Day and after has received a great deal of attention over the last few weeks, leading to a court hearing Monday.
The judge granted the two advocacy groups a preliminary injunction Thursday, barring Atlas Aegis from “deploying armed agents within 2,500 feet of Minnesota polling places or otherwise monitoring Minnesota polling places both during early in-person voting and on Election Day, threatening to deploy armed agents to Minnesota polling places and otherwise intimidating, threatening or coercing voters in connection with voting activities in Minnesota,” according to the court documents.
The ruling comes after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison reached an agreement with Atlas Aegis Friday in which the company said it would stop recruiting and would not provide security at or near polling places in Minnesota for the Nov. 3 election.
Along with ending its search for armed guards on Election Day, Atlas Aegis also agreed not to provide any protective agent services in Minnesota through January 1, 2022.