Vigilantes and Unauthorized Militia in America

Book excerpt: A vigilante group is an armed private group that has taken the law into its own hands or that has the announced potential of doing so. There are quite a number of such organisations in the contemporary United States, and many have members who are said to be anti-government, racist or both. There is a strong history of vigilante activity in the United States that is unique in modern world history. In order to avoid civil disturbances, Congress and a number of state legislatures have passed laws governing the organisation, instruction and activities of private groups assembled to drill with, practice with, or demonstrate the used of firearms or explosives. This is a brief overview of those laws.