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Health & Fitness

WI mining company paid $30,000 to dissuade protesters

By Ryan Ekvall | Wisconsin Reporter

MADISON –  Iron County law agencies charged Gogebic Taconite LLC with 690 hours and $29,868 for security.

The bill covers security costs from June 12 to June 23, according to information obtained by Wisconsin Reporter via an open records request.

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GTAC, which plans to develop a $1.5 billion iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin, has been criticized for hiring private, armed guards in the Penokee Hills after a June 11 protest, which led to an arrest.

About a dozen protesters wearing black masks reportedly stormed onto the site and damaged GTAC equipment, ransacked a truck and took a phone from a geologist recording the incident.

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GTAC’s bill did not include the hours law enforcement spent at the site the day of the protest, because that falls under area law enforcement’s “duty to protect and serve,” according to the Iron County Sheriff’s Department.

Read more at WisconsinReporter.com

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