What were they thinking?
Faced with lawsuits and state enforcement actions, a Tennessee company that planned to recruit special forces veterans to work as armed “guards” at Minnesota polling places in violation of election laws has scrapped the scheme.
The company, Atlas Aegis, agreed on Friday, October 24, 2020, that “it will not provide security services in Minnesota around the time of the election.” The company had advertised that “the work involved guarding the polls and making sure that the antifas don’t try to destroy the election sites.” That’s none of their business.
Polling places are on public property, operating them is a government function, and providing any needed security for the voting process is a government function. There is no role in that for private “guards” hired and paid by partisan interests.
The company also falsely claimed Minnesota election officials and law enforcement “were aware that armed civilians planned to guard polling places.” It also asserts “it did not intend to intimidate or threaten Minnesota voters or poll workers,” but what the heck did they think this would look like? And who is paying for this?
If there’s trouble at a polling place, pick up the phone and dial 911. (If you don’t have a phone, improvise like the dude at right. It might scare them off.)
Trump has called for private militias to “guard” polling places to make sure Democrats don’t “steal” the election. That’s what third world dictators do. Trump doesn’t want to “guard” voters; he wants to keep them from voting. That is what this looks like, and if this company didn’t know that, they’ve been living under a rock.
Read story here.
Photo: Atlas Aegis Co. is somewhere under here.