Bulletproof Secur

<h1 class="print-title">WI Senate Fast-Tracks Bill To Close Forest to Benefit Out-of-State Mining Firm</h1><div class="print-content"><div id="node-12234" class="node odd full-node node-type-news_article"><div class="inner"><div class="meta">by <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/users/35310/alex-oberley" title="View user profile." style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Alex Oberley</a> [1] — September 11, 2013 - 8:29am</div><div class="terms"><div class="tags-2"><li class="vocabulary-2">Topics: <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/politics/right-wing" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Right Wing</a> [2], <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/corporations" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Corporations</a> [3], <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/environment" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Environment</a> [4]</li></div><div class="tags-9"><div class="content clearfix"><a class="da2a_button" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prwatch.org%2Fnews%2F2013%2F09%2F12234%2Fwi-senate-fast-tracks-bill-close-forest-benefit-out-state-mining-firm&linkname=WI%20Senate%20Fast-Tracks%20Bill%20To%20Close%20Forest%20to%20Benefit%20Out-of-State%20Mining%20Firm%20" id="da2a_1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><img src="http://www.prwatch.org/sites/all/modules/addtoany/images/share_16_16.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Share/Save" style="border: 0px;" /> Share this</a> [5]A controversial out-of-state mining company is closer to gaining control over a 3,600-acre swath of publicly available forest near where it is planning a massive open-pit iron ore mine in Northern Wisconsin. The Florida firm, Gogebic Taconite, has begun test drilling in the area and has already stirred controversy by hiring out-of-state armed security with automatic assault weapons to guard their activities. The Arizona firm was kicked out of the state after the media uncovered they were not licensed here. Now Gogebic Taconite is attempting to shut down whole forests to keep its controversial mining activities from protestors and curious eyes.<img src="http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/bulletproof-securities_0.jpg" alt="Armed guards from AZ Bulletproof Securities in WI" title="Armed guards from AZ Bulletproof Securities in WI (source: The UpTake)" width="225" height="300" class="caption" align="" style="border: 0px;" />Armed guards from AZ Bulletproof Securities in WI (source: The UpTake)The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue passed <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/proposals/sb278" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Senate Bill 278</a> [6], which would give Gogebic Taconite the right to close the forest for up to 18 months, on a party line 3-2 vote in a hurried executive session last week. The bill is headed to the full Senate, when it reconvenes later this month.<h2>Managed Forests Would Be Closed to Hunting, Fishing, and Winter Recreation
</h2>The land in contention has been enrolled in the state's <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/ForestLandowners/openToPublic.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Managed Forest Law</a> [7] program. Wisconsin has long encouraged landowners to maintain open and accessible forests with tax breaks. Managed forest land is used by thousands of Wisconsinites across the state, and most specifically in the vast North Woods, for hunting, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing, and cross-country skiing. The bill rushed through the Senate committee last week would turnover public access decisions to the firm.Another option the firm has is to withdraw the land from the managed forest program, but then the company would lose its tax break, costing it some $477,000 in back taxes and a higher tax rate in the future."The bottom line is that they are about to shut off thousands of acres of land that is not being mined any time in the near future," with a goal, "to limit recreational activity and give a special benefit to one company alone," said Democratic Senator Bob Jauch.Proponents of the bill say it is needed because of a June incident when a small group of protesters confronted company staff, shouting obscenities. The incident led to criminal charges against a Stevens Point woman for theft of a camera. Committee chair Republican Senator Tom Tiffany started the hearing with video of <a href="http://wsau.com/news/articles/2013/jul/16/woman-charged-with-role-in-gogebic-taconite-mine-protester-incident" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">mining protesters</a> [8]. He repeatedly invoked the specter of "eco-terrorism" during the five-hour hearing.In response to the June 11 incident, the company hired an Arizona-based private security firm, <a href="http://www.bulletproofsecurities.com/">Bulletproof Securities</a> [9]. Bulletproof employees created a stir when they were spotted in camouflage and masks with automatic assault weapons in hand. The firm was ultimately <a href="http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_23832639/wisconsin-officials-didnt-check-mine-security-firms-licensure" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">removed from the site</a> [10] for not securing a license to operate in Wisconsin. Bob Seitz, the Gogebic lobbyist, said the firm has spent nearly a half-million dollars on<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/scott-walkers-aide-others-notified-by-security-firm-of-plans-for-mine-site-b9972362z1-219035771.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Bulletproof</a> [11] so far, and was ready to spend much more. If Gogebic Taconite secures permission for further sampling of mineral deposits, the security firm may <a href="http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/07/09/paramilitary-style-guards-are-going-to-stay-mining-company-vows/" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">return</a> [12].Al Gedicks, a professor emeritus of environmental sociology at UW-La Crosse, testified at the hearing yesterday against the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiX3UBwu2_A" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">further militarization</a> [13]of mining activity and resource extraction. Comparing the presence of Bulletproof Security to "psychological warfare," he says the real target is not 15 protesters but growing resistance from 11 Indian tribes and the local communities.<h2>Florida Firm Builds Four Mile Pit in the Penokee Range</h2>Referred to as "<a href="http://www.backpacker.com/october_1999_destinations_wisconsin_penokee_mountains/destinations/606" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Alps of Wisconsin</a> [14]," the Penokee Range has long been considered a crown jewel of the state, if not the Midwest. A pristine area with dense forest, rushing streams, and hilly ranges, people visit the area from all over the country.Gogebic Taconite is <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120501185124/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505244_162-57364890/wis-panel-oks-mining-bill-sends-it-to-assembly" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">based</a> [15] in Florida and is a subsidiary of the Cline Resource and Development Group of West Virginia. Billionaire CEO Chris Cline was heralded as the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-12/new-king-coal.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"New King Coal"</a> [16] by Bloomberg in 2010. After experiencing great windfalls with mountaintop-removal with West Virginia coal-mining, Cline wants to bring those practices to Wisconsin. 

The proposed mine would be the largest in Wisconsin's history, a $1.5 billion open-pit iron ore mine stretching from Ashland to Iron counties. It would be 4½ miles long and one mile wide. Gogebic Taconite has a $20,000-a-year <a href="http://www.northwoodalliance.org/GogebicTaconite/GTAC_Lease_Option.pdf" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">lease option</a> [17] on the mineral rights of approximately 3,600 acres in the Penokee Range. It has leased the land from RGGS Land & Minerals, LaPointe Iron Company, and Chester Co. Limited, all participants in the Managed Forest Law program. Gogebic Taconite claims it will operate for 35 years there. 

Among the opponents to the mining are Wisconsin tribes, who have long been concerned about the hazards posed by this dirty extractive industry to the vital <a href="http://www.badriverwatershed.org/index.php/bad-river-watershed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Bad River watershed</a> [18]. Gogebic Taconite has <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/mining-company-tells-tribe-to-keep-wetlands-expert-away-from-site-b9982420z1-220849461.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">threatened</a> [19] the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa with legal action if a wetlands expert came on the mining site. Heavy industrial work such as mining is generally prohibited in wetlands; legislators already rewrote state laws earlier this year to allow mining in these ecologically vulnerable areas.In March of this year, members of the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe began a <a href="http://www.lco-nsn.gov/mining.php" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Treaty Harvest and Education Project</a> [20], often referred to as the <a href="http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/08/14/slideshow-inside-the-penokee-harvest-camp" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">harvest camp</a> [21], in the forest near the site of the mine. The camp is both an effort to educate the public about the ecology of the region and part of a legal<a href="http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/07/28/in-penokees-camp-tribes-flex-treaty-muscles-to-block-mine/" target="blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">strategy</a> [22] to assert treaty rights. 

“The water is sacred to our people and vitally important to the survival of the all the people in Northern Wisconsin. Tribal members depend on clean, healthy water to meet their physical, social, cultural, economic, and spiritual needs. Any activity, mining or otherwise, that threatens those resources must be the subject of careful and thorough scrutiny, including input from all aspects of Wisconsin, so a proper healthy decision can be made," states Lac Courte Oreilles Chairman Gordon Thayer. 

Senator Tiffany claims the harvest camp will not be affected and they will respect native tribes' sovereignty. Yet on the radio recently he denounced the harvest camp as a "squatters' camp."<h2>Gogebic Taconite Continues to Write WI Law
</h2>
Senator Tiffany repeatedly made clear during the public hearing this is a "narrowly designed bill," essentially written solely on Gogebic Taconite's behalf. <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/02/11309/wisconsin-gop-attempts-ram-through-special-interest-mining-bill" target="blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">CMD has reported previously</a> [23], that the original bill permitting the iron ore mine and exempted Gogebic Taconite from major provisions of Wisconsin's environmental laws, appeared to be written by the company itself, a claim confirmed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUX0bkCbyg" target="blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">by Senate leadership</a> [24]. Tiffany repeatedly looked at Gogebic Taconite's lobbyist Bob Seitz as questions were raised that he could not answer about the bill.CMD has reported that "grassroots" support for the mine has come chiefly from out-of-state Republican political organizations including <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/01/11956/americans-prosperity-provides-grassroots-controversial-wisconsin-mining-bill" target="blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">David Koch's Americans for Prosperity</a> [25] and <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/02/11309/wisconsin-gop-attempts-ram-through-special-interest-mining-bill" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Club for Growth.</a> [23]All Republican members on the Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue have received<a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr012813.php" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">significant campaign donations from the mining industry</a> [26]. Mine supporters contributed <a href="http://www.wisdc.org/pr012813.php" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">$15.6 million in total</a> [26] to Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature, reports the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Those contributions outweighed environmental groups opposing mining deregulation by a $610 to $1 ratio, with 79 percent of the contributions going to Republicans."This legislation has nothing to do with mining or job creation. It is simply a brazen act of selfishness by one out-of-state company whose owner continually demonstrates insensitivity to the neighboring communities and is too cheap to pay his responsible share like any other citizen in the managed forest land," said Senator Jauch.</div></div></div></div><div class="print-footer" style="text-align: center;">Center for Media and Democracy • 520 University Avenue, Suite 260 • Madison, Wisconsin 53703 
Phone: 608-260-9713 • Fax: 608-260-9714</div><hr class="print-hr" style="height: 1px; border: 0px; width: 1047.199951171875px; color: rgb(158, 158, 158); background-color: rgb(158, 158, 158);" /><div class="print-source_url" style="font-size: small;">Source URL: <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/09/12234/wi-senate-fast-tracks-bill-close-forest-benefit-out-state-mining-firm" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/09/12234/wi-senate-fast-tracks-bill-close-forest-benefit-out-state-mining-firm</a></div><div class="print-links">Links:
[1] http://www.prwatch.org/users/35310/alex-oberley
[2] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/politics/right-wing
[3] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/corporations
[4] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/environment
[5] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prwatch.org%2Fnews%2F2013%2F09%2F12234%2Fwi-senate-fast-tracks-bill-close-forest-benefit-out-state-mining-firm&linkname=WI%20Senate%20Fast-Tracks%20Bill%20To%20Close%20Forest%20to%20Benefit%20Out-of-State%20Mining%20Firm%20
[6] https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/proposals/sb278
[7] http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/ForestLandowners/openToPublic.html
[8] http://wsau.com/news/articles/2013/jul/16/woman-charged-with-role-in-gogebic-taconite-mine-protester-incident
[9] http://www.bulletproofsecurities.com
[10] http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_23832639/wisconsin-officials-didnt-check-mine-security-firms-licensure
[11] http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/scott-walkers-aide-others-notified-by-security-firm-of-plans-for-mine-site-b9972362z1-219035771.html
[12] http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/07/09/paramilitary-style-guards-are-going-to-stay-mining-company-vows/
[13] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiX3UBwu2_A
[14] http://www.backpacker.com/october_1999_destinations_wisconsin_penokee_mountains/destinations/606
[15] http://web.archive.org/web/20120501185124/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505244_162-57364890/wis-panel-oks-mining-bill-sends-it-to-assembly
[16] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-12/new-king-coal.html
[17] http://www.northwoodalliance.org/GogebicTaconite/GTAC_Lease_Option.pdf
[18] http://www.badriverwatershed.org/index.php/bad-river-watershed
[19] http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/mining-company-tells-tribe-to-keep-wetlands-expert-away-from-site-b9982420z1-220849461.html
[20] http://www.lco-nsn.gov/mining.php
[21] http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/08/14/slideshow-inside-the-penokee-harvest-camp
[22] http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/07/28/in-penokees-camp-tribes-flex-treaty-muscles-to-block-mine/
[23] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/02/11309/wisconsin-gop-attempts-ram-through-special-interest-mining-bill
[24] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUX0bkCbyg
[25] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/01/11956/americans-prosperity-provides-grassroots-controversial-wisconsin-mining-bill
[26] http://www.wisdc.org/pr012813.php<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Tom Parrella is an Arizona-based businessman who dabbles in a mix of real estate, high risk loans and paramilitary security operations. One of Parrella’s companies, Bulletproof Securities, is now at the center of a controversy over heavily armed, masked security guards who have <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/07/rent_an_army.php" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">upset some locals</a> by patrolling the site of a proposed mine in northern Wisconsin.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">After <a href="http://www.bluecheddar.net/?p=33877" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">photos and videos</a> of the semiautomatic rifle-toting guards at a drilling site in Iron County emerged on the websites of anti-mining activists, Bulletproof Securities was <a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/GTAC-Mine-and-Scott-Walker-by-Eric-Nelson-130708-172.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">linked to the masked men</a> through insignias on their hats and the license plate on one of their armored vehicles. Bulletproof Securities was founded in 2002. Documents filed with the State of Arizona describe Bulletproof Securities as a “private military contractor” and identify Parrella as both president and CEO of the company.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bulletproof Securities isn’t Parrella’s only business. Parrella, who has described himself as a<a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/article_6b9e1408-4f66-5820-b19b-f3c446326564.html?mode=story" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">former police officer</a>, is also linked to <a href="http://starpas.azcc.gov/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">at least five other businesses</a> by his name, direct phone number, and multiple addresses. Parrella’s other ventures include a real estate company, DPR Realty LLC, the DPR School of Real Estate, a company called DPR Financial Solutions LLC, and Battle Group LLC. Cambios Y Servicios, Inc., a <a href="http://arizona.local.dirtcheappayday.com/cambios-y-servicios-inc-in-chandler-az-85226/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">payday loan business in Chandler, Ariz.</a>, lists Parrella’s cell phone as its phone number.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to <a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/article_6b9e1408-4f66-5820-b19b-f3c446326564.html?mode=story" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">an interview with Arizona’s East Valley Tribune</a> published in 2007, Parrella started Bulletproof Securities with money made from his real estate business, which is based at the same address as the security firm. He also said he was inspired to start Bulletproof Securities as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. In addition to “site security,” Bulletproof Securities <a href="http://www.bulletproofsecurities.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">claims on its website</a> to offer “executive” security details, “firearms training,” “armored vehicle services,” and a “border security force,” among other services. Parrella did not respond to requests for comment on this story Tuesday.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bob Seitz, a spokesman for mine owner Gogebic Taconite, confirmed to TPM that the company does have armed security at the mine site but would not say whether Bulletproof Securities was hired to provide security.“I’m not discussing the business relationships that we have with our security,” said Seitz. “The other side, the violent protesters, they don’t tell us their plans, so I don’t tell them about our business relationships.”<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Seitz said the security was a response to protesters that have “attacked” equipment and staff at the site. Activists have protested the mine due to concerns about its <a href="http://www.miningimpactcoalition.org/current-news.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">“environmental, health, social, and economic” impact</a>. Last month, a woman was arrested after what was described in a local news report as <a href="http://wpr.org/news/display_headline_story.cfm?storyid=90151" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">a “raid” on a Gogebic Taconite mining site</a> that reportedly involved 15 people who threatened workers and damaged equipment.“It’s been ongoing, they have been camping on our private land,” Seitz said of the protesters. “They come down regularly in the middle of the night, two or three in the morning, and try to get into the camp and security has to turn them back.”Seitz said Gogebic Taconite hired security as part of its “responsibility to create a safe workplace” for its staff. He also said the company was concerned about the safety of the protesters who had been “endangering themselves” by “beating on high pressure hydraulic levers.”<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On Monday, a pair of local lawmakers, state Sen. Bob Jauch and state Rep. Janet Bewley, <a href="http://host.madison.com/letter-calling-for-removal-of-guards/pdf_7d3e2cbc-3b85-5a03-895d-d49aeb9e36b7.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">sent a letter to Gogebic Taconite</a> asking it to “immediately remove the heavily armed masked commando security forces currently hired to protect your company’s property.” Jauch told TPM he doesn’t object to the company having armed security, but the semiautomatic rifles, heavy armor, and masks used by the guards at the mining site meant they were “not armed security” and were instead a “mercenary anti-terrorist force.”<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I don’t have a problem with an armed security guard, most security guards are armed. I don’t want them to be armed for war,” Jauch said.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In the letter to Gogebic Taconite, Jauch and Bewley said the armed guards would only serve to “intimidate local citizens” and argued a “hand gun could be just as effective as an assault weapon.” The politicians also suggested the company’s goals would be better served by using off-duty law enforcement who would actually have the power to make arrests rather than a private security force.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“We weren’t asking them to completely withdraw security forces. We’ve asked them to withdraw their mercenaries, who have no place in northern Wisconsin, and replace them with a security force that is very similar with the Wisconsin security force,” said Jauch.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jauch also said the Iron County sheriff informed him the guards at the mining site were indeed from Bulletproof Securities.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I’ve talked to the sheriff,” Jauch said. “He told me that’s who it was. … They were told that they were up there.”<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Iron County Sheriff Tony Furyk did not immediatley respond to a request for comment from TPM.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Seitz said the decision to use semiautomatic weapons was made by the company that provided the guards and not Gogebic Taconite.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The level that they have for personal defense is really up to the professionals, we’re not experts on that,” said Seitz of the guards’ weaponry.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Seitz also disputed that Gogebic Taconite could have used off-duty local law enforcement for its security needs.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“As I’m sure Senator Jauch is aware, this is not a heavily populated area. There are not large police forces that can be tapped,” Seitz said. “We have used off duty sheriff’s deputies also, and we reimburse the county for overtime costs, and we’ve gone that route, but, you know, Iron County doesn’t have very many deputies, so there’s a limit to how much overtime you can use.”<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In <a href="http://host.madison.com/tncms/asset/editorial/24cb77d0-9444-5ba8-948c-acad96f5e315/#ixzz2YaVvx6xy" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal</a>, Seitz also disputed the notion the guards would intimidate locals.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“None of those (guards) was visible,” he said. “They have been monitoring people on our lands.”

However, that under-the-radar approach would seem to be at odds with Parrella’s security philosophy. In a local news interview taped last year, Parrella said the heavy weaponry used by the company was a deliberate deterrent to potential adversaries.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Our goal is to go in extremely high profile,” Parrella said.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Nevertheless, in spite of the uproar, Seitz said Gogebic Taconite has no plans to change its security procedures at the mining site.<p style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Senator Jauch’s letter will change nothing in our plans,” he said.<section class="tags" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 25px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <a href="http://topics.talkingpointsmemo.com/Bulletproof%20Securities" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Bulletproof Securities</a>, <a href="http://topics.talkingpointsmemo.com/Gogebic%20Taconite" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Gogebic Taconite</a>, <a href="http://topics.talkingpointsmemo.com/Wisconsin%20" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Wisconsin</a></section></div></div></div>