Vigilantism means stepping in to stop, investigate, or punish what you think are crimes, even though you don’t actually have the legal authority to do so.
A vigilante is someone who acts on their own when they feel that the official justice system isn’t doing enough for them. You might see some groups of people come together and try to police their neighborhood themselves, even though they haven’t been given any legal power to do so. They usually follow their own idea of what’s right, not the criminal laws that everyone else goes by in society.
These are the most common types of vigilante groups. They can’t go out and make any legal arrests or take on policing duties in their communities.
Sometimes people use the word vigilantism to talk about the areas where there’s chaos or no clear law at all in place. In these places, different groups – sometimes even rival gangs – might each try to act like their own version of law enforcement because there aren’t enough police around and things are completely out of control.
Vigilantes try to punish people they think have done something wrong, in much the same way that a government would do it. The difference is, vigilantes skip the trial and just act on impulse. That’s why unchecked vigilantism can get out of hand very fast. A quick example – during France’s Reign of Terror in 1793, nearly 42,000 people were executed without any real form of trial, all because some groups decided to hand out their own punishments.
Vigilantes in the United States
Lynching has shown up more than any other form of vigilantism in the United States. It first appeared right after the country was founded and continued well into the 20th century. Even in the early years of the civil rights movement and all of the way through the late 1960s, these terrible acts were still happening.
When gold was found in 1848, San Francisco’s population exploded. What had been a small town of about 900 people suddenly turned into a fast-growing city with over 20,000 residents. The official law enforcement couldn’t keep up and people felt more and more unsafe in their community. So, the citizens created their own crime patrols. These groups, called “Committees of Vigilance,” usually formed for about three months at a time and then chose to disband.
There are some other examples, too. In 1981, someone shot and killed the town bully in Skidmore, Missouri, right in broad daylight. The bully had been committing crimes for years without being punished at all. Even though forty-five people saw it happen, no one would name the shooter when they were asked.
Looking at more recent times, Ranch Rescue, which started in 2000, still operates in the southwestern United States. Ranchers ask them for help when they want trespassers or squatters removed from their land. And in 2013, the FBI caught members of a group in New York known for forcing Jewish men to grant religious divorces with beatings and torture.
What Motivates Vigilantes?
Most of the people who try vigilantism feel that they need to step in and make some things right for their community. There are a few other common reasons, too.
Sometimes, people want the laws to be enforced more strictly or they push for harsher punishments for those that they think deserve it. That thinking has even caused the bombings of some abortion clinics.
Other times, a person becomes a vigilante because of a personal goal to protest laws they find unacceptable. They might want to make a statement about a higher set of laws. They may also want to shine a light on what they see as the government’s failure.
Vigilantes claim they want to protect those people in their communities who are at risk of being taken advantage of. But things don’t always work out that way. In some cases, they end up targeting poor people. They also go after minorities or other groups that they think don’t fit into the society they imagine.
This is one of the main reasons why people see vigilantism as dangerous. Even though being a vigilante itself isn’t against the law, many of the things that vigilantes do are.
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Where Do Vigilantes Believe They Derive Their Authority?
Right after the United States came together as a country, there hadn’t been enough time to write out a set of laws or put together a group of trained police officers. Because of this, the people in the town would step in themselves and make what’s known as a citizen’s arrest.
This idea came from the English common law and the U.S. Constitution covers it, too. If you saw a crime happen or thought someone had committed one, you could arrest that person as an ordinary civilian. After you made the arrest, you’d take them to jail and there would be a trial.
It wasn’t considered vigilantism, since the ordinary citizens weren’t giving out punishments themselves.
You can still find that citizen’s arrests are happening. Sometimes, though, the vigilantes try to use this as an excuse, when they say they’re only making a citizen’s arrest when they’re actually taking things too far. Back in the early days, the people would sometimes skip the trial and take justice into their own hands by punishing the accused. This was true vigilantism. If they killed someone, that was murder then just like it is now.
Are there any Punishments for Vigilantism?
The punishment that you might run into for vigilantism can depend on what you actually do. Let’s say that someone thinks a suspected murderer isn’t getting real punishment, so they choose to kill that person themselves. That person would still get charged with murder in this case.
In almost every case, the state will press charges against the vigilante for their actions. Even if your intentions are good or you end up leading the police to someone quite a bit more dangerous, you still broke the law, so you’ll have to deal with the consequences of your actions.
There are some situations that could make the punishment less extreme for you. The facts matter quite a bit here. The jury or judge might feel more sympathy if the circumstances are emotional or tough for everyone involved. Say a parent whose child was killed in a crime. If that parent takes revenge and kills the person who murdered their child, it’s likely that the judge and jury would understand the parent’s feelings a little more – this sympathy could lead to a lighter or reduced sentence when a “heat of passion” defense might turn a murder charge into manslaughter for them.
Public reaction is another important point to remember in these cases. If people protest and believe the vigilante was justified in their actions, the prosecutor could feel some pressure to give you a plea bargain deal instead of holding a public trial.
Do I Need an Attorney for Assistance with Vigilante Liability Issues?
It can be very easy for you to cross from trying to help into breaking the law, even if you mean well. When you take matters into your own hands, it’s still considered vigilantism.
If you’ve found yourself in a situation where you acted on your own to get justice, you should reach out to a skilled criminal defense attorney. Please don’t wait too long.
A good attorney can tell you about all your options, have conversations with you about possible legal results and stand up for you in court. They can work hard to get you a lighter sentence. They will also try to show the court why they should give you leniency.
