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Armed Guards Get OK To Return To Wisconsin Mining Site
Armed Guards Get OK To Return To Wisconsin Mining Site
August 12, 2013, 6:28 PM
Heavily armed, masked guards from an Arizona-based security company received approval last week to return to the site of a proposed mine in Wisconsin where they have clashed with protesters. However, the district attorney of Iron County, where the site is located, has implied he will take action against the mining company if the guards try to return with their weapons.
The guards, who have been outfitted with camouflage and semiautomatic weapons, are employed by Arizona’s Bulletproof Securities, a company that specializes in “border security” and “executive” protection and is run by an entrepreneur who also is tied to ventures in real estate and payday loans. Bulletproof’s guards were initially ordered to leave the site of the planned mine July 10 after it was found they were operating without a Wisconsin license.
Gogebic Taconite, the company that hopes to operate a mine on the site has argued the heavily-armed guards were necessary because protesters who are concerned about the impact the mining would have on forests had disrupted operations and attacked equipment at the site.
After investigating whether Bulletproof was operating without a license at the site, Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services dismissed the complaints and issued a license Aug. 5. Bulletproof has argued the guards exceeded all of the license requirements and they were simply unaware they needed a specific Wisconsin license in addition to their federal credentials. Records also show Bulletproof contacted Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) office to notify officials they planned to send guards to Wisconsin. The case was turned over to the Iron County District Attorney’s office to determine if the guards violated any laws.
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Full article here: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/08/bulletproof-securities-approval-mine.php?ref=fpb
Previous news regarding the issue from July 2013 on DU link below...
Armed Guards Temporarily Removed From Wisconsin Mine
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023222431
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023222431