Joe Miller’s Security Firm Won’t Be Charged For Handcuffing Journalist

Tony Hopfinger (right) and William Fulton (inset)
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DropZone Security, a private security team hired by Republican Joe Miller for an October town hall, won’t be charged for handcuffing and detaining Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger.

At the Miller event, held at a public school on October 17, Hopfinger repeatedly attempted to question and video tape the Republican Senate candidate, asking about disciplinary action taken while Miller was a part-time attorney at the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The situation escalated, and DropZone ended up handcuffing Hopfinger in the hallway of the school. He was released when police arrived.

Alaska Department of Law spokesman Bill McAllister said yesterday that the agency “reviewed whether there was any violation of the statutes pertaining to security guards and bodyguards and because of insufficient evidence we have declined to prosecute,” according to the Dispatch.

DropZone Security is a small firm in Anchorage, made up entirely of veterans, and doubles as an army surplus store and bail bond agency. William Fulton, who heads the group, told TPM at the time that “this was something that is quite common. This guy got violent and we put him into cuffs.”

Miller, who beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the state’s Republican primary, fell short to her write-in bid in the general election. But he’s not giving up, and has filed a number of legal challenges that have kept the election results from being certified.

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