Timesuck with Dan Cummins - 486 - Vigilante Justice: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (A Lot)

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

What happens when ordinary people decide the legal system isn’t enough — and to take justice into their own hands? From real-life “superheroes” to tragic misfires, from folk-hero avengers to catastrophic citizen’s arrests, this episode explores the wild, messy, often dangerous world of vigilante justice. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes horrifying, sometimes darkly hilarious, these stories reveal just how quickly “doing the right thing” can go very wrong.Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious PrivateFacebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch-related questions/problems: [e-mail] (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast.Sign up through Patreon, and for $5 a month, you get access to the entire Secret Suck catalog (295 episodes) PLUS the entire catalog of Timesuck, AD FREE. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When you think of vigilante justice, what comes to mind? Kicking down the door some creepy dude down the street, what your kid said tried to lure them behind some building at the local park, and then you did some online sleuthing and found out that this turd-on legs has a criminal record involving sexual crimes against children. Do you picture yourself going full Dexter Morgan on their ass, just making them disappear? Or maybe do you picture running down somebody who tried to steal your car

and tackling them, just holding them down until the police arrive and tell you you're a hero? Maybe you picture Batman or the Punisher, some superhero, so many superheroes or vigilantes, who've decided that enough is enough, that criminals must pay, that the system is too broken and corrupt to stop them, so some brave dark night needs to rise up and do what they can't or are unwilling to do. Maybe you imagine some Robin Hood-like hero, stealing from the rich to help the poor. You've also probably seen or heard stories on social media or in documentaries or on podcasts, as some parent who went after their child's killer or abuser, and maybe you have thought to yourself, good for them.

There are certainly examples of vigilante justice that have received, you know, mostly public approval. Maybe you fantasize, like I certainly have, about how nice it would be in moments to bring back some kind of Wild West vigilante justice. When you rounded up a posse and someone who did you wrong, or, you know, and you went and got them, or you joined a posse where somebody else you know is wronged,

and you find the dirtbag who robbed the town bank or murdered your friend or sexually assaulted your wife or your daughter and you and to reference an incredible Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western, you hang them high. But what if you're wrong? What if the guy you and your posse were so certain was guilty is not guilty? What if you just lynched and tormented and hanged a completely innocent man? The concept of vigilante justice. While it sometimes for sure has led to some piece of shit who escaped getting legal justice,

getting some good old-fashioned street justice, it has also been used to justify thousands and thousands and thousands of lynchings against innocent people. Misguided, horrific lynchings that still happen today. Vigilantism is complicated. While many accept and even approve a vigilante justice, in some cases, the potential for it to devolve into brutal, targeted violence towards innocent people also cannot be ignored. This week, just in time for Christmas. We'll explore the legal and social definitions of vigilantism,

What kinds of environments foster vigilante justice and review some notable interesting cases of vigilantees and also vigilante groups throughout world history in this week's sometimes heavy, sometimes light, sometimes dark, sometimes goofy as hell edition of TimeSuck. This is Michael McDonald, and you're listening to TimeSuck. You're listening to TimeSuck. Happy holidays. Happy Monday and welcome and welcome back to the cult of the curious. You fucking weasel. I know exactly what you did. I don't look around like at somebody else.

I'm talking to you. No, that was weird. Dan Cummins. Cult critic, amateur historian, professional rascal, person who's probably, you know, fairly mentally unstable most times. You are listening to Time Suck. Hail Nimrod.

Hail Lucifina. Praise be to good boy Bojangles. and Glory B to Triple M. No announcements today other than, you know what? I hope you're getting a chance to spend some time with some people you love right now. And if you're not, I hope you love yourself right now. I hope you love yourself regardless. But I do hope you are getting at least a little bit of downtime, a little bit of reflection time at this point in the year.

And I hope you're looking forward to the start of a new year. All right. Let's move into this topic now. I feel like this week's episode is especially thought-provoking. There's going to be some moments where you will probably think that. That is why vigilantism is obviously so fucked up. That's why we can't ever do that. Got to let the law and the court sort it all out.

But then there's going to be some other moments of, oh, oh, shit, okay, all right. Vigilantism actually made an incredible amount of sense there. If the law won't hold predators accountable, then vigilantism, it is. I get why it is such a good thing. We need to keep it around. There will be moments of, fuck, fuck, that's heavy. That is so sad. What the hell is wrong with people?

but also moments of inspiration and hilarity moments of I'm not sure how the hell I'm supposed to feel about that I'm very excited for you to hear it all so let's get curious let's have open minds be willing to reevaluate some preconceived notions and dig the fuck in beginning today with an overview defining vigilante justice and analyzing some different aspects of vigilantism It is how it's pronounced. I check so many times. My brain so wants to go, Vigilanteism. But I don't,

that's apparently not a word. And after that, we're going to go over some well-known cases, also cases I'd certainly never heard of of vigilantism, not vigilanteism, working wonderfully or not working at all

from all around the world in today's timeline. So, to start, what is vigilantism? Vigilantism is defined by my dad as, quote, a whole bunch of fun. And one of the only things that makes life worth living.

Just give me a name, Danny. Give me a name. I'll make sure that motherfucker goes away for good. And nothing, I mean nothing, will ever be traced back to you or your family. I work real light and I work real clean. Okay. Vigilantism is actually defined as the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.

A vigilante is one who partakes in vigilantism or undertakes public safety and retributive justice without commission. as in for free, as opposed to a mercenary, who will dish out justice or wanton murder for a price. The term comes from the Italian word, Maserada, Bougares, forget Antonio Banderas. I mean, Vigilante, meaning sentinel or watcher. Of course, fucking watchers over there, really.

Makes me think of that monster of Florence. People jerking off on the hills, from the hills, not on them, well, both, I guess. and also comes from the Latin vigilance. According to political scientists, Regina Bateson, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, vigilantism is, quote, the extra-legal prevention investigation

or punishment of offenses. And there's three components to this definition. First is extra-legal, done outside the law, right? That's key. Second, prevention, investigation, or punishment. Vigilantism requires specific actions, not just attitudes or beliefs, right? obviously like just sitting around thinking like I should fucking get that guy

not the same as I'm getting that guy and then three offense vigilantism is a response to a perceived crime or violation other scholars have defined collective vigilantism as group violence to punish perceived offenses to a community and we will see some collective vigilantism today some pretty cool examples of it actually according to author Les Johnston

vigilantism has six necessary components one it is planned or premeditated two it is carried out by private volunteers three it is a social movement four it involves or threatens the use of force five it occurs when established societal norms are perceived to be threatened and six its primary goal is to enforce safety and security especially to its participants by combating crime vigilantism has existed for as long as humans have existed i would imagine long before it ever had a legal definition right since some slightly smarter than monkey cave ape was sitting around thinking hey i don't like how bobo always bobs us on the head with a bone and takes our food let's do something about it let's bop bobo back

vigilantism has parallels with the medieval custom of private wars or vendettas acts of vigilantism can also be found in a variety of ancient text including books in the bible right the whole eye for an eye motherfucker for example genesis 34 describes the abduction and rape of dinah the daughter of Jacob in the city of Shechem by the king's son. Dina's brothers, Simian and Levi, then kill every single dude in the city and rescue their sister, which seems a bit excessive to kill all the men. But I like the spirit. I like the spirit of what they did. Aspects of vigilantism are often featured in folklore and tales of outlaws.

The tale of Robin Hood, probably the most classic example of vigilantism. Long before comic books gave us mass crusaders or gritty anti-heroes, stalk of the night, medieval English folklore gave the world one of history's most enduring vigilantes, a man who did not need superpowers, just a bow, forest full of loyal weirdos, and a deep hatred for unfair taxes.

Robin Hood, the green-clad outlaw of Sherwood Forest, still stands as one of the most iconic figures in a long human tradition of saying, nah, fuck that, to corrupt authority. Interestingly, we don't have an author for the story of Robin Hood. Also doesn't seem we actually have a real Robin Hood,

at least not a single real person who existed by that name. Instead, Robin Hood's a legendary folk hero, emphasis on folk, whose stories evolved out of various English folklore tales, most likely an amalgamation of various real ancient outlaws. Early ballads from the 1400s portray him entirely as an outlaw, not as a nobleman,

and the famous steal from the rich to give to the poor, that narrative did not develop until much later. The legend's roots stretch back to folklore from the 13th or 14th centuries, when ballads, poems, and tavern tales. Gotta love a tavern tale. Began circulated about a rebellious archer who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. These earliest versions show a rougher, more violent Robin

than the modern Disney-fied hero. But across all versions, from medieval manuscripts to Hollywood films, one core idea remains constant. Robin Hood took justice into his own hands because the people in power were corrupt, greedy fuck faces who refused to deliver it. The story typically unfolds during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, a.k.a. King Richard I.k.a. King Dick, a monarch from the 12th century,

beloved and lore, but usually off fighting the Crusades instead of governing his own kingdom in real life. In Richard's absence, England is left in the hands of his scheming brother, Prince John, who is portrayed as a greedy, cowardly tyrant. Under John's rule, landowners and peasants alike, suffer crushing taxes, unlawful seizures, brutal enforcement by corrupt officials, most famously the Sheriff of Nottingham. Enter Robin of Loxley. Often described as a nobleman or skilled yeoman pushed into outlawry after crossing the sheriff, depending on the version, Robin loses his lands, is falsely accused of a crime or simply refuses to bow down to unjust authority. Forced into Sherwood Forest, he transforms from fugitive to folk hero, gathering a band of loyal companions known as the merry men, who include Little John, his towering right-hand man, Friar Tuck, a churchman who would rather drink ale and brawl than deliver sermons. much the Miller's son

Will Scarlett and other colorful figures such as Montague Benevolent who function as a medieval resistance squad I just made up the Montague thing you're like what? Who? I don't remember that guy Together they wage a one

forest guerrilla war on Nottingham's corruption Robbins vigilante justice almost always portrayed as moral targeted and strategic unlike typical outlaws he does not rob indiscriminately He focuses on wealthy nobles, tax collectors, officials who have enriched themselves by exploiting the common people. His robberies become symbolic, noble altruistic acts, public embarrassments that expose the abuse of power and redistribute wealth back to those from which it was stolen. One of the best known episodes, features Robin, humiliating the sheriff during an archery contest, disguised to avoid capture.

Robin wins the competition with a shot so precise It supposedly splits the previous arrow right down the middle When the sheriff realizes he has been played by the very outlaw He has been obsessed with capturing chaos erupts Robin makes a daring escape The only kind of escape a folk hero can make a daring one A classic vigilante moment where skill and defiance blended of folk heroism At the heart of the Robin Hood legend is a question that spans cultures and centuries

When those in power are corrupt does justice require breaking the law? And Robin's answer is a resounding, fuck yeah, bro. He becomes an outlaw not because he rejects justice, but because the officials entrusted with justice have weaponized the law to serve themselves and not the people. Eventually, King Richard returns, exposes Prince John's abuses, and pardons Robin,

a tidy ending found in many romanticized versions of the tale. And despite very likely not being a real dude, Robin Hood becomes the archetypal blueprint for the noble vigilance. a symbol of resistance, a champion of the oppressed, and the eternal enemy of corrupt authority. Kind of a bummer that the face of vigilanteism might not have ever had an actual face, that he was more symbol than man. However, there are plenty of examples of real vigilantes throughout history. And we will, you know, share some of their stories.

Vigilantism is, of course, not just an issue from the days of old. Still common today. It's always been around. Probably always will be around. I can't imagine how it wouldn't always be around. according to a 2010 study by the Latin American Public Opinion Project, as criminal violence became more common in parts of Latin America this century, more ordinary citizens increasingly started to take matters into their own hands,

which makes sense, right? If your government is not corrupt, if law enforcement officers and judges are vigilant and actually doing their jobs properly, well, there's not really a need for vigilantism, is there? Vigilantism, sorry. That study found that when high interpersonal trust is paired with low confidence in law enforcement institutions,

that combination is what leads to the most acts of vigilantism. Daniel Zizumbo Kalanga, a member of Mexico's National Council for Humanity Sciences and Technology and a political science professor, notes in the report that strong interpersonal trust is considered crucial to a well-functioning democracy because, quote, social capital is believed to promote government accountability and responsiveness.

It allows individuals in a community to interact with each other, without the need for external authorities policing relations and agreements and facilitates interpersonal interactions by promoting a belief that people will act in their best interests. But under certain conditions, social capital can produce attitudes that are inherently problematic for democracy. Specifically, high levels of interpersonal trust can lead to greater support for non-sanctioned citizen-administered justice when it appears alongside a lack of confidence in state law enforcement institutions. again makes sense i mean if you fucking know if everybody knows that john doe killed your dad in cold blood but when the police i mean not my dad because he's you know the fucking terminator but if like

your dad uh but when the police who are notoriously corrupt where you live and commonly bribed investigated john do he paid them off the whole thing went away charges not being filed even though he is still definitely talking shit around down about how he for sure killed your dad and got away with it well you now have some serious motivation to take that dude out And if you have neighbors and friends who you really, really trust, who also know that the police will not do shit about this, who also hate this dude, when now vigilante justice becomes not just possible, but highly likely. This report cites an increase in vigilantism in Mexico as the government has struggled to control the violence associated with drug trafficking. People don't have faith in the government protecting them. And cartels have routinely bought off local authorities.

For example, in 2004, two officers in Mexico City were beaten and burned. alive by an angry mob who believed they were part of organized crime. A third officer, almost killed by the same mob. Somebody apparently filmed this. Filmed a crowd of people who cheered, chanted, and shouted obscenities as they kicked, beat, and burned these agents. As the mob doused two officers with gasoline and set them ablaze in the video, the agents blood streaming down their faces, they speak into the cameras before the burning, saying that they are federal anti-terrorism agents who have been sent to the area on official business, but the

mob doesn't believe them the violence began in the early evening several people saw three men staking out of school uh the area had been tense since two youngsters disappeared youngsters believed to have been taken from that school and now people think these agents are coming to take more kids but did those agents have anything to do with those kidnappings we'll probably never know because a huge problem regarding vigilante justice is there's no trial there's no evidence being formally dissected there's no judge there's no jury In 2008, approximately 20% of respondents to the Latin American Public Opinion Project Survey of Public Opinion in Mexico openly supported vigilante justice, largely because of all the corruption of the government. The study concluded the effect of interpersonal trust on support for vigilante justice is contingent on the confidence in citizens allocate to the institutions in charge of law and order.

The study suggests that social capital itself can serve as a modifier of the effective attitudes toward the state. confidence in state law enforcement institutions only influences attitude supporting citizen-administered justice for those with high levels of social capital. The amount of insecurity perceived in a neighborhood is another predictor of support for vigilantism. This in conjunction with the results regarding trust in law enforcement institutions underscores the importance of building state justice institutions that are not only perceived as effective but indeed do reduce feelings of insecurity among citizens. Yet again, makes sense. If law enforcement allows lawlessness to exist in a neighborhood, then vigilantism is bound to eventually spring up. If the police aren't going to protect people, eventually some of those people are going to rise up and protect themselves. Makes me think about, you know, how you tend to see more beware of dog signs, more breeds of dogs,

bred for self-defense when you drive through a low-income neighborhood than when you drive through a high-income neighborhood. Low-income neighborhoods tend to experience more property crime, more crimes of, you know, desperation. uh often uh have less police presence so people have to put more energy into protecting their property if they don't want to get their shit stolen right they got to like uh take some uh some of the defense into their own hands uh let's now review two common but vastly different acts of vigilantism and their impact on society in the u.s a citizen's arrest i'm sure you've heard that term uh allow civilians to detain individuals they have directly witnessed or reasonably suspect of committing a crime. Guessing most of you again, yeah, like me, familiar with the concept of a citizen's arrest,

but don't know exactly when you can do it or, you know, have it done to you. According to my dad, you can make a citizen's arrest of anyone you suspect of committing any crime and you can always use lethal force. And you can then toss her dead body in the back of your truck, drive up into the mountains, dump it into a pre-dug pit full of a lot of other dead bodies belonging to people you decided are either criminals or scum or fuckheads. but I don't think anyone should trust my dad's judgment when it comes to who can be legally killed or punished in some way or really anything at all.

In reality, you can't just use the concept of a citizen's arrest to capture and restrain somebody for just any old crime. Even if you do witness, that crime being committed directly. In most states, a citizen may arrest someone for a felony if they have reasonable grounds to believe the felony was committed, but even that is usually frowned upon, unless lives are in present danger. And sometimes even when lives are in danger,

enforcement still strongly prefers that you call them and let them handle it rather than handle it yourself. For a misdemeanor, a citizen's arrest is usually legally permitted only if the misdemeanor is committed in the arresting person's presence and, big and, typically only if it involves a breach of the peace, for example, violent or very disruptive conduct. But yeah, even then, though, you can get yourself in trouble. Like if you see somebody, for example, jaywalking, you know, they're definitely not using a crosswalk. You definitely cannot legally proceed to scream while you point a gun at them.

Hey, you freeze, motherfucker! Get out of the ground! Meal on the ground! Keep your hands where I can see them! And you can't then walk over and handcuff them because that's insane. The police are going to frown on that. They're not going to care that they were jaywalking. They will care very much

that you've pulled a gun on an unarmed citizen and essentially have kidnapped them when you've handcuffed them. Also can't grab some kid you see shoplifting at Barnes & Noble. You know, while you're there doing some holiday shopping, just slam him to the ground, kneel on him, you know, until the police arrive, you know, you don't even work there.

You're not security, fucking take it down a notch, right? You're not Rambo. Nothing is over. Nothing. You just don't turn it off. You do turn it off. You do need to turn it off sometimes. Yeah, not your job to catch criminals.

And in fact, while they might get arrested for shoplifting or charged, you're probably going to get arrested for assault. Yeah, citizens arrest are legally usually something to avoid unless the person is attacking others, you know, attacking you, about to attack others or you, if the private individual misidentifies a suspect, uses excessive force, or detain someone without meeting the required legal standard of probable cause, which is subjective, they will almost certainly face criminal charges and or civil lawsuits. Yeah, best to avoid, you know, just whenever possible, just don't.

This liability has led to many states discouraging citizens' arrests and practical guidance, even though statutes, many of them old statutes still do permit them. modern police departments almost universally advised, again, against private individuals attempting arrests unless absolutely unavoidable. Yeah, most modern law enforcement, not fans of vigilantes. Idaho's citizen's arrest statute leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I think it's real vague. According to statute 19-604, when private person may arrest, a private person may arrest another. One, for a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.

I mean, that's, that's a lot of things. Two, when the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence. Okay, that's crazy. Three, when a felony has been, in fact, committed and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it. Reasonable cause, I don't know that a lot of people are good at deciphering reasonable cause. This statue makes it seem to me like you can arrest almost anybody for just thinking that they did some shit. Kind of makes me want to test it, you know? Maybe arrest some dude across the street.

who I think there's just kind of an asshole and then when the officers, you know, show up, I haven't detained. I thought he knocked over my mailbox, officer. No, I mean, I didn't see him do that, but look at him. He looks like the kind of dude who would do that, right? Probable cause, motherfucker. As a good example of why you should not take the law

to your own hands, let's look at something that happened last year, just north of me in Bonner County, Idaho. Early last year, and I feel like Idaho is probably more relaxed than most states about this kind of stuff, and this guy still got in trouble. Early last year, a bizarre troubling episode played out that ended with the county paying a civilian $200,000 and issuing a formal apology

in order to get them to drop other charges and criminal charges, all because an elected official decided to play law enforcement and try to make citizens' arrests during public meetings. The man at the center of the controversy is David Bowman, local resident, who've been attending county commission meetings and criticizing officials over their use of a sergeant-at-arms to enforce public comment rules.

Bowman had sent emails to commissioners expressing frustration with how public participation was being handled. Emails that one commissioner, Luke Omat, didn't care for. He claimed they were threatening enough to justify removing Bowman from public meetings by force.

What did Omat do about them? Well, instead of calling the sheriff or even, you know, using standard procedure, he declared that Bowman had trespassed when he came to this public county meeting and then he physically detained him under the theory of a citizen's arrest, not once but twice.

Bowman was hauled off to jail during a January meeting released without citation. Then when he showed up again in February, dude fucking grabbed him and hauled him out again, arrested a second time after a formal vote cropped up ostensibly to back up the trespass claim. But they don't get to decide how the law works.

Bowman was not committing a violent crime, was not threatening anyone with imminent harm, he was participating in a public meeting and objecting to the actions of public officials. Obnoxious, yes, illegal no. Omot used a shaky interpretation of citizens' arrest authority, one that was not grounded in clear legal justification to physically remove and jail him, and the fallout was pretty swift. The county ultimately settled Bowman's lawsuit for again,

for again $200,000. Nearly all of that for physical injuries he sustained during and after the arrest, and they issued a public apology for violating his constitutional rights. The settlement explicitly recognized that Bowman's rights were violated and that he only had his rights restored by seeking redress through the courts. County chair at the time, Asia Williams, read a statement acknowledging that Bowman had been wrongly treated and that Bonner County needed to reaffirm its commitment to the rule of law and constitutional rights. Luke Omott, lucky he didn't have to pay him out personally.

Also lucky he didn't get criminal charges filed against him, which he easily could have, all because he didn't like some guy at his meeting and a fucking county commissioner's meeting. If you do make an arrest, you have to promptly call the police or quickly deliver the detained person to law enforcement. Holding somebody longer than a time deemed necessary

can result in charges of fault. imprisonment or kidnapping. In the 2020, several high-profile cases, particularly the killing of Amad Arbery in Georgia, which we will look at here soon, put renewed scrutiny on citizens' arrest laws. There were more calls for people not going fucking vigilantee. In 2021, Georgia actually formally repealed its Civil War-era citizens' arrest statute, becoming the first date to largely eliminate the practice, while still allowing narrow exceptions for business owners' security persons.

personnel and off-duty officers. This reform sparked renewed debate nationwide about whether citizens' arrests, if it's an outdated relic or a necessary emergency tool. The concept of today's citizens' arrest in the West is a practice that dates back to medieval England. Back to when the legend of Robin Hood was being born, actually. In 1285, England formally introduced the concept of citizens' arrest in a law called the Statute of Winchester, which allowed any person to arrest lawbreakers.

The practice spread throughout Britain's later colonies, such as Australia, Canada, and the U.S. In the American colonies, law enforcement was established along British territory lines. However, rapid migration westward led to a region in North Carolina without a strong local government. And it was here that the only major vigilante movement started in colonial America. They called themselves the regulators. We'll learn more about them in today's timeline as well. Today in England and Wales, citizens' arrests are permitted by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 but they are called any person arrest okay the history of the u.s refocusing on america

has proven that it can be easy to seriously abuse the power of a citizen's arrest for a large part of our history only white men could make citizens arrest and then this power was unsurprisingly used primarily to intimidate enslaved and free black people lynching became a prominent and terrible form of vigilantism in the civil war and jim crow eras and i mean it's continued in some form until the present. According to the NAACP, white Americans use lynching to terrorize and control black people in the 19th and early 20 centuries. And that's not some woke shit. That's just truth. That's fucking history. The NACP defines lynching as a public killing of an individual who has not received any due process. U.S. lynchings have most often been carried

out by lawless moves, but law enforcement has participated in some cases as well. The NAACP, writes lynchings typically evoke images of black men and women hanging from trees, but they involved other extreme brutality such as torture, mutilation, decapitation, and desecration. Some victims were burned alive. A typical lynching involved a criminal accusation and arrests in the assembly of a mob, followed by seizure, physical torment, and murder of the victim. Lynchings were often public spectacles attended by the white community in celebration of white supremacy.

According to PBS, lynchings were covered in low. local newspapers, with headlines spelling out the horrific details, photos of victims, with exultant white observers posed neck to them were taken for distribution in newspapers or on postcards, body parts, including genitalia, or sometimes distributed to spectators to put on public display. Damn, body parts distributed to spectators. So wildly dark, and I've seen some of these photos. Yeah, it was even common to see kids witnessing these horrific acts of violence. From 1882 to 1968, there were 4,743 recorded lynchings in the U.S. per the NAACP records.

Who knows how many others just weren't recorded. The Equal Justice Initiatives report on lynchings has slightly different numbers, and it is impossible to ever know the true number due to just a lack of proper record keeping. The highest number of lynchings occurred in Mississippi with 581, followed by Georgia with 531, followed by Texas with 493. There are no recorded lynchings in the states of Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, but you can bet your sweet ass. They happened. About 72% of lynching victims were black. Some whites were lynched for helping black people or for being anti-lynching. Immigrants from countries like Mexico, China, Australia, also victims. One common claim used to lynch black men were alleged sexual transgressions against white women.

Black men also accused of murder, arson, robbery, vagrant, and other crimes. And as we learned during an episode on Emmett Till, episode 360, these allegations often completely unsubstantiated. The lynch mob often knew damn well that the target of their lynching was completely innocent. This was not about justice.

This was not about vigilantism. This is about fear and hate. PBS reports that the practice of lynching predates slavery in America, but gained momentum during the Reconstruction era when African Americans began to experience some political and economic success. They had gained some new freedoms

that freak people out. many whites felt threatened by that many feared sex between races especially black men uh uh you know having sex with white women they were portrayed as sexual predators and you know something had to be done uh many victims were murdered without even being accused of any crime killed for violating social customs or norms racial expectations such as just speaking to white people with you know less respect than the white people believed that they were owed uh one motivation for the great migration was to escape lynching civil rights organizations such as the NAACP emerged during this time to try and stop racial violence.

In the July 1916 issue of the crisis, the N.AACP's official publication, then editor, the famous W.E.B. Du Bois, the man often called the father of American sociology, published a photo essay titled the Waco Horror that features photos of the lynching of Jesse Washington. Yeah, you can find these photos online today, and whew, fucking brutal. And before I dive into the facts of this heavy case, time for today's first of two, Mitcho sponsor breaks. If you don't want to hear these ads ever again, please sign up to be a space hazard on Patreon. Help us make monthly charitable contributions, get the catalog ad free, get episodes three days early and more. Thanks for listen to our sponsors. Hope you heard a deal that makes some sense for you. And yeah, and thank you if you use our codes.

When you do, you definitely help us out. And now let's return to 1916 and hear about an especially heinous example of vigilantism. on May 15th, 1916, 17-year-old Jesse was lynched in Waco, Texas by a white mob that had accused him of raping and killing Lucy Fryer, a white woman. After just four minutes of deliberation, the jury's foreman in Jesse's trial

announced a guilty verdict and a sentence of death. The entire trial had lasted about an hour. That's crazy. Did he actually do it? Historians' views are mixed. Most analysts in recent years seem to think that he probably was guilty, but with like an asterisk, you know, evidence may have been planted on him by local police that would not have been uncommon at all then on that place. Also, he was very likely severely intellectually disabled, which makes the confession he made, you know, pretty problematic. Following the verdict, court officers approached Washington to escort him away. You know, they were going to hang him. But now he's pushed aside by a surge of spectators who sees him, drag him outside. Washington initially fights back, biting one man at one point, screaming.

but then he gets hit and beaten into submission. Once outside the courtroom, a chain is quickly placed around his neck. Now he is dragged towards City Hall by a mob that just keeps growing and growing. While he's being dragged downtown, all of his clothes or tore off of his body, he stabbed multiple times by random people while repeatedly being hit with blunt objects. By the time he made it out in front of City Hall, more men waiting for him there had prepared wood for a bonfire next to a tree in front of the building. Washington now semi-conscious and covered in his own blood

is doused with oil, then hang from the tree by chain, then lowered towards the ground. They didn't want to choke him out with a chain. Still alive, still very alive, more members of the crowd, which now numbered in the thousands. They cut off all his fingers and toes with various knives, and then somebody caught off his genitals. He's still alive.

The atmosphere of the spectators has been described as fucking joyous. People of all ages, laughing, joking around, hooting and hollering. While this goes on, you can see people in photos, some of them just kids, big old grins, having themselves a good old time. The fire is eventually lit and Washington still alive, now repeatedly raised and lowered back down into the flames, screaming wildly until he finally burns to death. At one point, while being held over the flames,

Washington was witnessed attempting to climb up the chain to avoid the fire but is unable to do so because he doesn't have fucking fingers anymore. My God. Fire, this is like worse than any fucking death scene you've seen a movie. The fire was eventually extinguished after approximately two hours. hours, at which point bystanders started to collect souvenirs, including some of his bones, links from his chain, one attendee grabbed part of his genitalia, a group of kids, apparently little kids, started to snap the teeth out of his head and then started to sell them as souvenirs,

just little fucking ghouls. Still not done. What was left to his body was then dragged behind a horse throughout town, Washington's remains, finally transported to Robinson where they were publicly displayed until the law officer obtained the body late in the day and buried it. My god. Spectacle of this lynching drew a large crowd estimated it between 10,000 and 15,000 looky-lose

at its peak, including the mayor John Dallens, Chief of Police, Guy McNamara, the sheriff also there, and he told his deputies not to try and stop the lynching and no one was arrested. Du Bois accused, he used postcards of this murder

and they are fucking powerful. to energize the anti-lynching movement. The crisis of circulation grew by 50,000 over the next two years. In 1919, the N.WACP published 30 years of lynching in the U.S. to promote awareness of these dark vigilante killings. The year prior, 1918, Congressman Leonidas Dyer of Missouri, we don't hear a lot of Leonidas anymore, first introduced his anti-lynching bill into Congress.

NWACP supported passage of the bill, but then was defeated in the Senate. National lynching rates declined to the 1930s, which the NACP attributed to anti-lynching activism, shifts in public opinion, and the Great Migration again, which is that movement of approximately 5 million African Americans out of the rural southern states to the urban northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970, you know, to get factory jobs for the most part and just, you know, less, hopefully,

we were hoping that there'd be less discrimination. We've talked about that in numerous previous episodes. The first full year without a recorded lynching was not until 1952. Three years before, the 1955, lynching of Emmett Till. Emmett's mother, Mammy Elizabeth Till Mobley, held an open casket funeral for her son,

which helped raise awareness and caused national outrage. The two killers were acquitted in court, later confessed to the crime in a magazine interview, callously. That inspired a whole new generation to get involved in the civil rights movement. And yet, lynching continues into the 21st century. In 2011, a group of young white men and women were drinking and partying.

in the small town of Puckett, Mississippi. According to one of their lawyers, they decided to go out and get some more beer very late at night. Law enforcement reports state that Daryl Dedman, an 18-year-old from the Jackson suburb of Brandon, Mississippi, said to some friends with him that night, let's go fuck with some ends. The group split up between Deadman's green 1998 Ford F-250 pickup truck and a white Jeep Cherokee. Each drove 16 miles west on I-20 to a predominantly black area in the western edge of Jackson, where they, they spotted 47-year-old James Craig Anderson near his truck in the parking lot at the Metro Inn in Jackson at 5 a.m. They supposedly thought, they claimed, that they thought. He was stealing the truck, and they decided to be vigilantes, crime stoppers.

No, it was his truck. He just lost his keys, was struggling to get in. Group pulled over, numerous assailants, rushed Anderson, hitting him, knocking him to the ground, beating him with some fists and whatever they had on them while they yelled shit like White Power. then while some kids in the Jeep drove off, Darryl Dedman got in his truck, ran over Anderson, who was staggering along the edge of the lot

trying to get away and find help. Dedman then boasted about beating and running him over, saying, I ran that N over. Anderson died of his injuries a few days later. Deadman sentenced to 50 years in prison, won't be eligible for parole. And then in 2023, something's fucking terrible in this family,

clearly, not a good family. Darrell Deadman's cousin, Christian Deadman, also gets in trouble for going vigilante in a similar way. January 24th of that year, Christian was one of six white Mississippi law enforcement officers who tortured two black men Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker at a home in Braxton, Mississippi. Police were called to the home by a white neighbor, who reported nothing more than Jenkins and Parker entered the home with a white woman. And that was it. That was enough for the police to come over. Six officers who refer to themselves as the goon squad, the house without a warrant, proceeded to torture Jenkins and Parker over the course of

about an hour and a half. Torture included Jenkins being shot in the mouth, which shattered his jaw. Parker was sexually assaulted by one of the officers. They were both threatened with rape. Six officers charged in both state and federal courts pled guilty to all charges against him. During their trial, more accusations against the officers came out, included ramming a stick down some dude's throat until he threw up blood, choking a dude with a lamp court, waterboarding him, testing out new tasers by shocking a man in the head and balls using a blow torch to melt a nutcracker handle onto a man's leg his bare leg before choking him out with the belt dragging a blow torch flame

across the suspect's feet several people also reported being stunned having guns put in their mouths waterboarded being told to move out of the county all of these victims black Daryl's cousin Christian sentenced to 40 years in prison even law enforcement officers can become vigilantes when they decide to go outside the law to punish someone they feel deserves it. And I think we can all agree that this kind of vigilantism fucking sucks.

If you can't agree with that, what the fuck is wrong with you? Amy Kate Bailey, a professor and sociologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told ABC News that lynchings in America have historically been used, quote, to send a message of acceptable and unacceptable behavior and to signify who's in power and who's not. Bailey's research on lynching victims found that social marginality increases the likelihood of being targeted in violence by a vigilante mob.

Another very recent example of this was the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, February 23rd, 2020 that I briefly mentioned earlier. Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, chased Arbery in their truck after they saw him jogging in their neighborhood. He's just out jogging.

And they falsely believed he was responsible for several breakings in the area. no evidence has ever emerged that he had anything to do with the crimes Greg and Travis thought he was responsible for their neighbor William Bryan the fucking three of these guys when you see them videos it's like they shared one brain cell also joined that they are exactly who you think they are also joined the chase blocked Arbery from escaping Travis fired the shot that killed Arbery Brian recorded footage of the shooting

and on August 8th 2022 Gregory and Travis McMichael both sentenced to life in prison for federal hate crimes. William Bryan received 35 years for his role tagging along. Oh my gosh. I'll just say right now, no fucking way any of those three ever turn their life around and become inspirational. Maybe collectively they'll learn how to

fucking read a Bernstein Bear's book or some shit, but fucking just dumb walking. The federal jury convicted him decided they followed Ahmad because he was black. The federal jury convicted them of being motivated by racial hate and interference of Arbery's civil rights in an attempt of kidnapping.

All three men also convicted of murder in Georgia State Court in the fall of 2021. The McMichaels again sentenced to life without parole. William Bryan sends to life with the possibility of parole. Hopefully he never gets it. The McMichaels also convicted of carrying and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence. Travis found guilty of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Another very infamous case is the 2012 death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, kid with no criminal record at all.

Got in trouble at school once for having some weed on him. That's it. Martin shot and killed by George Zimmerman, who followed him during his walk from the store. Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch coordinator and just a fucking idiot. God, I hated this guy when the story came out. He's fucking so punchable. He was a neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community

where Martin was visiting relatives. Zimmerman, unlike Martin, did have a criminal record before this incident. He was arrested in July of 2005, charged with felony counts of resisting arrest. with violence and battery of a law enforcement officer. Incident occurred when he interfered with an undercover agent who was arresting one of his friends at a bar. He avoided a conviction by entering a pretrial diversion program

which involved anger management classes and an alcohol education program after which charges were dismissed. Then a month after his arrest, Zimmerman's former fiancé filed for domestic violence restraining order against him. Zimmerman acquitted on charges related to the domestic violence or in July of 2013 after asserting self-defense I looked into it a little further

it seems I don't know pretty weak that he was let off there later in 2013 Zimmerman's estranged wife called 911 to report he'd assaulted her father and was threatening her with a gun on brand

not charged over that incident though lucky fuck November of that same year charged with felony aggravated assault after allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend toward a domestic violence incident that case later dropped

Why can't this guy Just fucking fall off a cliff and die January of 2015 Fucking Zimmerdick Again charged with domestic assault After allegedly throwing a wine bottle At a different girlfriend How small is this guy's fucking dick

What kind of fucking micropine Anger does this guy have? Again the charges later dropped Then in 2015 The Vigilani Killer almost got taken out By a different vigilante killer Ah, it's so unfortunate The story doesn't end here

This would be so poetic September 9th, 2014, Zimmerman named by police in a road rage incident, which another driver later named by police is Matthew Apperson claimed Zimmerman followed and threatened him. Zimmerman later claimed in testimony that Apperson approached him over a rear tire leaking air, which Zimmerman was already aware of. He explained this to Apperson before Apperson asked if Zimmerman knew he was, quote, wrong for killing that little black boy. Zimmerman lost Apperson after the two stopped at a gas station And Zimmerman drove off Then on May 11 2015, Apperson shot at Zimmerman While the two were driving in separate cars on a street in Lake Mary

Zimmerman was grazed by some glass and metal shards When the bullet broke through his passenger side window It's unfortunate, didn't just hit him right in the fucking eye Stop by the metal window frame The bullet caused a minor facial injuries from flying glass and debris Zimmerman flagged down A police officer was taken to the hospital Apperson maintained that Zimmerman was the aggressor

and that Apperson acted in self-defense. Zimmerman also had a gun with him at the time of the incident, but Zimmerman's attorney said that, quote, George absolutely denies having shown it, wave displayed, pointed it. A Lake Mary police spokesman said that the investigation has proven that George Zimmerman was not the shooter. May 15, 2015, Apperson jailed in Sanford, Florida with a bond of 35 grand. While free on bond, Apperson accused, convicted, and jailed for disorderly conduct,

resulting in his bond being revoked Lake Mary Police Department quote learned that Apperson has exhibited unusual behavior in which he had recently been admitted to a mental institution it appears that Apperson has a fixation on Zimmerman and has to play

displayed some signs of paranoia, anxiety and bipolar disorder but also guy has a pretty good fucking compass when it comes to who he should kill if he has to just kill somebody if he has to kill somebody

Zimmerman isn't really a bad choice September 22nd, 2015, a judge ruled Apperson would stand trial for second-degree attempted murder, along with one kind of aggravated assault, one kind of shooting into an occupied vehicle. Apperson was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a firearm September 16th, 2016. Then on October 17th of that year, he sentenced 20 years in prison on the charge of attempted second-degree murder, also given a 15-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault, stemming from the same incident, what a bunch of drama, and how fucked that he goes to prison

for 15 to 20 years for trying to kill a guy who did not go to prison at all for not just attempting to kill, but definitely killing an innocent teenager. November 11, 2016, is reported that Zimmerman had been kicked out of a bar and sent to Florida. A deputy had been called to the bar

in order to investigate a claim of battery involving a female friend of Zimmerman and was reviewing surveillance footage when the manager, or with the manager, when Zimmerman began yelling like screaming at a waitress. Of course, according to the manager, this is one of several incidents started by Zimmerman, this place, and he wanted him removed for trespassing.

Female employee told the police she'd attempted to collect the group's bill, and then Zimmerman grabbed the credit card from her hand and started to scream at her. The deputy stated that before Zimmerman left, he told the manager, I didn't know you were an N-bomb lover. And after that, he mostly falls off the historical record. Oh, Zimmerman, not exactly coming across as some type of Robin Hood vigilante, is he? Super shitty example of a vigilante. I hope that, you know, currently when this podcast airs,

he's fucking lying dead to ditch somewhere. Truly, fuck him. Now before diving into today's timeline, and I realize some of these acts I've already mentioned could have easily been placed into the timeline. Let's take a look at how other countries view vigilantism. Not all of them. We're not going to go through every country.

That'd take way too long. Vigilantism barely tolerated in some countries, actively encouraged and others. In 2020, Euro-Nurs, Euro-News, interview two men, identified as Patrick Fripps and Cleveland. It's kind of a funny combo. Who called themselves pedophile hunters.

Fuck yeah. Time for some uplifting examples of vigilante justice. Bojangles, strapped up, ready to join those pedo hunters. They were going to online messaging platforms for kids and pose as a 12-year-old girl waiting for the men to message them. At the time of the article, they were looking for a man who had sent nude photos to take their, who had sent some nude photos to their fake account asking for child porn in return. they'd already found out the suspect's name, date of birth, and profession, and they intended to go to his house to conduct a citizen's arrest, and then did just that eight days later. They confronted the man with his messages and photos, broadcast him being confronted online before they called the police.

Patrick Fripps had, at the time of that article, over five years ago, reported over 600 alleged sexual predators to the authorities. Hale Nimrod. That is incredible work. Authorities he has worked with believe this practice obviously has helped put a lot of dangerous criminal. criminals in prison. But they also think it's not ideal. Dan Vajovic of the Cambridge police explained, these groups of pedophile hunters cause us more problems than they help solve. Sometimes these groups become illegal by hidden people, hide in evidence, and committing extortion or blackmail.

Fair, but also, Patrick Fripps in Cleveland don't seem to have done that. So while some pito hunters do more harm than good, others working with law enforcement do more good than harm, I have to believe. It was reported that in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany, and the U.K., a multitude of vigilante groups have more than three million total members. Man, some unsurprisingly, you know, are much more active than others, some members in name only. In the Hague, in the Netherlands, men and women volunteered to patrol the city twice a week at the time of this article. They even had an app may still have it for their groups to alert local authorities about damage to public works or crimes. crime has been falling since 2012 in the Netherlands

while the number of prevention and self-defense groups has risen coincidence or has crime been decreasing because of the rise of these groups? A sociologist Shanna Melbaum told Euro News that these groups are actually more prevalent in areas with low crime rates she explained quote it would be much more logical to have these kind of neighborhood watch groups in unsafe areas but this is not often the case people feel the need to feel safer when they are in very secure neighborhoods

The conclusion of our research Is that these groups have no real influence On the crime rate in their neighborhood That's a bummer Fear of other people, specifically foreigners Seems to be the motivating force Behind many of these vigilante groups in Europe For example, the NPD

Similar to the neo-Nazi movement in Germany Created a video stating that they intended To secure the city of Omburg Against quote migrant attacks Damn it idiots, focus on Pitos Not migrants, focus on criminality Not fucking culture or culture or color, you dumb motherfuckers.

Criminologist Mark Schulenberg believes vigilante groups like this tend to lead to further discrimination stigmatization. Stigmatization. Oh, my God. Stigmatization. There we go.

And ethnic profiling. He told Euro-Nus. He told Euro-News. It's like my fucking brain is like, oh, we're going with R-words? Euro. Let's just carry that over in the news. Euro-Nurors,

they target to say it broadly, black men. men with long beards, women with burkas, et cetera, all things and people who deviate from the norm in their neighborhood become suspicious. We're still such a tribal species, right? So many of us are still, despite an abundance of good, educational, you know, statistically based information, it's more easily accessible than it's ever been

at any other point in human history, still so ignorant and wildly reluctant to get on board with Team MeatSack. Right? So quick to focus, not on people's actual criminality in this example, you know what team they appear to be on do they look kind of like me do they act kind of like me okay cool we're good then whatever they've been accused of it's probably bullshit wait do they not look like me at all wait they dress different act different well fuck them they're the worst they're dirty savages who are 100% guilty of whatever they have been accused of get them

out similar to in the u.s vigilantism around the world is not always or even usually people defending themselves their families and their neighborhoods for a noble cause often is racially motivated or xenophobically motivated instead of being actually motivated by crime. All right. Now let's dig into more examples of vigilantism from the past few hundred years. Some good, some bad, some fucking awesome, some incredibly inspiring and some, you know, shitty, but also maybe entertaining. Time for a timeline. Shrap on those boots, soldier.

We're marching down a time-suck timeline. I'm going to start things off talking about the regulators. So I mentioned earlier, a group of 18th century settlers who fought against unjust laws and taxation. And the regulators are, of course, close associates of Warren G and Nate D.O.G. of the LBC. Regulators. You regulate any stealing of his property. We're damn good, too.

But you can't be any geek off the same. Street. Mm-mm. Gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn you keep.

Yep. Regulators. Mowna. It was a clear black night, a clear white moon. Waramurgy was on the streets trying to consume

some skirts for the E. So good. So nostalgic. Jets hit the east side of the LBC on a mission trying to find Mr. Warren G. Seen a call full of girls

ain't no need to tweak. All of you search. Okay, sorry. I should, I should break you back the episode. listening that old song. Those regulators made that song a hit

by sampling none other than Michael motherfucking McDonald's. And I know that it's hard for you to say the things we've been near true I keep forgetting

we're not in love anymore I keep forgetting things will never be to say again I keep forgetting how you made it so clear. I keep forgetting every time you're near. The regulars I'm talking about today

where residents of North Carolina's backcountry, many of them notoriously fiery Scott Irish immigrants who believe that the royal government officials loyal to Britain were charging illegally excessive fees, falsifying records, and engaging in other crimes and mistreatments, such as unfairly taxing less productive inland land. at the same high rate as more fertile land near the coast. This exacerbated existing economic and social differences

leading to some east-west sectionalism in North Carolina in the 1700s. The colonial government was dominated back then by wealthy eastern areas near the ocean and county governments were firmly controlled by the royal governor through his power to appoint local officers. Backcountry settlers in the west were angered by the excessive taxes and dishonest officials who held multiple offices. Royal Governor, Arthur Dobbs, in office from 1754 to 1764, tried to make things right. He favored the colonists by issuing a proclamation against the taking of legal fees, but that was simply ignored.

And then the following royal governor, William Tryon, in office from 1764 to 1771, really angered colonists by preventing the Colonial Assembly from sending a delegation to the Stamp Act Congress and through his attempts to enforce the Navigation Acts. Navigation Act is very unpopular. A series of English law started in 1651 designed to control colonial trade, ensuring it primarily benefited Britain by requiring goods to be shipped on English or colonial vessels and restricting certain high-value colonial products like sugar and tobacco to be sold only to England or other colonies, which increased wealth for England but foster resentment and led to smuggling in the colonies, contributing to existing tensions that would eventually lead to the American Revolution and a new fucking country.

Tryon lived in an opulent, mansion, meant to serve as his home in the capital built at the public's expense, and that didn't sit well with a lot of local impoverished farmers. Neither did the increased exploitation they were subjected to at the hands of his officials. Many of his officers were greedy where they would band together with other local officials for their own personal gain. The entire tax system in North Carolina at the time depended on the integrity of local officials, and they didn't have any. Many of them engaged in extortion. Taxes were collected that just enriched the tax collectors directly instead of helping the you know the common good an effort to eliminate the system of

government became known as the regulator uprising war of the regulation or the regulator war and while trying was governor several thousand people from north carolina mainly from orange grandville and anson counties in the western region all dissatisfied with the wealthy north carolina officials these corrupt fuckers um they banded together into a militia of sorts a militia of vigilantes and herman husband a quaker farmer and pamphletier pamphletier not a word you have to say a lot more these days. He became the chief unofficial spokesperson for these oppressed backcountry Piedmont farmers

who became known as the regulators. Trying did not care for Herman at all had no sympathy for the plight of these farmers. Tryon sought to suppress the so-called regulators who declared their purpose was regulating public grievances and abuses of power. The regulators agreed to pay no more taxes and fees until they were satisfied

that they were in accordance with the law. Residents of Anson, Orange, and Granville counties began to protest, targeting appointed officials with threats and violence, including sheriffs, tax collectors, registrars, court clerks, and judges. In September of 1768, Trian had assembled a force of over 1,000 men to squash a rebellion. The regulators, meanwhile, had a force of about 3,700 men, but while they had greater numbers, the regulators not prepared to battle with a trained armed militia. They were just volunteers.

Herman Husband and other regulator leaders were arrested, then soon released. In 1769, Herman and John Pryor, another key figure of the movement, were elected to the Colonial Assembly as county representatives, but sadly, the regulators had little influence in the assembly, and the concerns of backcountry farmers still not addressed. The court met at Hillsborough, September 1770, and the regulators directed their anger at Crown Attorney Edmund Fanning. The regulators disrupted court proceedings by beating Fanning.

Fuck yeah, just fucking start a beat. Hey, son of a bitch, you're not going to listen to us? Well, fucking slap you around then you. well, you think because of your attorney, we can't fucking punch you in the face? And then they drove him out of town, and they ransacked his home. In 1771, a special term of court was called in Hillsborough. Judges hesitated to attend, yeah, they didn't want to get beat up. So Governor Trina called, he called on the militia to protect him.

The regulator sought a public meeting with officials to discover, quote, whether the free men of this county labor under any abuses or power or not. Officials ignored the call for a discussion and a request for an explanation of other recent events, which just added fuel to the fire. Governor Tryon then ordered the militia to head to the Western frontier and confront the regulators. And on May 16th, 1771,

a thousand of his men and officers met a force of about 2,000 regulators at Alamance near modern day Burlington. The regulators tried to talk with Tryon. He agreed only if they would disperse and lay down their arms within the hour when the regulators were like, fuck that, suck our dicks.

Tryon sent an officer to inform them. He would fire on them if they did not disband and the regulators replied with 16 in the clip and one in the hole Nate dog is about to make somebody's turn cold Now they drop in and yelling it's a tad bit late Nate dog and Warren G had to regulate That's fucking exactly what they said

Now wrong regulators again They replied with fire and be damned Which you know similar After two years of fighting the regulators ran out of Do I say two years? They fought for two years straight They didn't sleep. No, two hours. They fought for two hours, a little bit different. And then they ran out of ammo, and they were beat.

Try and lost nine militiamen. About 15 regulators were taken prisoner. One of those prisoners would be hanged without a trial. Of the 14 other captives tried in court, a dozen would be convicted of treason and sentenced to death, sick to be hanged. The rest pardoned by the king. Tryan offered to pardon anyone who swore oath of allegiance to the crown the regulators took his offer. And within six weeks, over 6,000 locals had complied with the terms. Bummer. After the Battle of Alamance, precursor to the Revolutionary War, sometimes erroneously called the first battle of the Revolutionary War, many backcountry frontiersmen, rather than continue to be oppressed, they fled to Tennessee. Insurrection would last for about five more years to varying degrees, and then it would be overshadowed by the American Revolution.

So, unfortunately, this early act of vigilantism didn't actually accomplish a whole lot for the side of the vigilantes, but I do think their cause was just. and good on them for being brave enough to actually fight to stand up against tyranny. 1851, another group of vigilantes out in the wild west of America would actually get some shit done. The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, which is a bit of a misnomer because that was actually a number of committees, committees that would pop up under that name. Like a committee would pop up, deal with crime, disband, only to have a new committee of the same name reassemble and deal with more crime later. And then that cycle just kept going. Between 1848 and 1851, following San Francisco, turning into a major port after gold, there's gold in them hills, was discovered 130 miles inland at Sutter's Mill, setting off a massive California gold rush. The population soared from about 1,000 people to about 35,000 people.

So it increased 35-fold in three years. And that explosive growth overwhelmed law enforcement. And that led to the organization of these committee vigilante groups who would end up hanging eight people. for several elected officials to resign and a whole bunch more. The first committee formed June 9, 1851, with a written doctrine declaring its aims, and it hanged John Jenkins of Sydney, Australia, June 10th, after he was convicted of stealing a safe from an office in a trial organized by the committee. The June 13th Daily Alta, California, printed the following statement

regarding the group's formation and punishment of Jenkins. Whereas it has become apparent to the citizens of San Francisco, that there is no security for life and property either under the regulations of society as it at present exists, or under the law as now administered, therefore the citizens, whose names are hereunto attached, do unite themselves into an association for the maintenance of the peace and good order of society, and the preservation of the lives and property of the citizens of San Francisco, and do bind ourselves, each unto the other, to do and perform every lawful act for the maintenance of law and order, and to sustain the laws when faithfully and properly administered,

but we are determined that no thief, burglar, incendiary, or assassin shall escape punishment, either by the quibbles of the law, the insecurity of prisons, the carelessness or corruption of the police, or laxity of those who pretend to administer justice. Feels like that reported was definitely pro-vigilante committee. This 1851 committee, which was about 700 members strong, engaged in policing, investigating, disreputable boarding houses and vessels, deporting immigrants and parading its militia. Four people would be hanged by this specific committee.

Another one whipped. 14 more deported to Australia. Had a lot of problems of Australians. Another 14 informally ordered to leave California and 15 others handed over to public authorities. Historians mixed as to whether or not the 1851 committee and the numerous committees that followed over the next five or six years were mostly good or mostly bad. General William DeCombs as Sherman, General Sherman, a brilliant general general for the Union in the Civil War and the commanding general of the U.S. Army from 1869 to 1883, lived in

San Francisco while these vigilantes were active, and he was firmly in the, they were mostly bad camp. He later wrote the following about them in his memoirs. As the vigilantes controlled the press, they wrote their own history, and the world generally gives them the credit of having purged San Francisco of rowdies and ruffs. I love that phrasing. A guy of these rowdies and ruffs out of here. But their success has given great stimulus to a dangerous principle. That would at any time justify the mob and seize all the power of government. And who is to say that the vigilance committee may not be composed of the worst instead of the best elements of a community? Indeed, in San Francisco, as soon as it was demonstrated that the real power had passed

from the city hall to the committee room, the same set of bailiffs, constables, and rowdies that had infested the city hall were found in the employment of the vigilantes. Makes a good point. All right, there's corruption in City Hall, the vigilante groups to forms to root out corruption and then a lot of the corrupt officials just move into the vigilante group. That's pretty fucked.

Perhaps America's most notorious vigilante group, at least they see themselves as being vigilantes is the Ku Klux Klan, aka the KKK, aka the Brotherhood of Peckarwoods, who formed in 1865. And no need to go over their actions today. Now we covered them way back in the 50th episode of Time Suck.

those fuckers were still are piece of shit who don't actually care about law and order you know justice they just care about racial segregation and suppression

so let's talk about the Knight Riders instead Night Rider a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist

hell yeah you get fucking pumped up or don't even know why Michael Knight A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless in the world of criminals who operate above the law. Yes, that's the vigilante we need, fucking Knight Rider. That was part of the intro to the Night Rider TV show that ran on NBC in the U.S. from 1982 to 1986. Classic 80s show.

It's kind of like a David Hasselhoff. It's kind of like part Batman, part Robocop with a fucking cool-ass transam named Kit thrown into the mix. Real night riders now, at the turn of the 20th century, long before Kentucky became known primarily for bourbon, basketball, and horses. Large portions of the state were caught up in an economically devastating conflict known as the Black Patch Tobacco Wars. There was a period when thousands of small tobacco farmers felt corner, exploited, financially strangled by corporate monopoly. And they decided to fight back by forming one of the most organized and violent vigilante groups in American history. Their enemy was the American Tobacco Company, the ATC, run by James B. Duke, which became so large and powerful in the late 1800s that it controlled the price of dark-fired tobacco, an extremely valuable crop used in pipe tobacco and snuff across Europe and the U.S. ATC's monopoly allowed it to dictate, take it or leave it prices that were far below what most farmers needed to just to survive.

For many, it felt less like a business relationship, more like economic enslavement. in response a bunch of farmers in western kentucky and tennessee attempted to fight back legally and economically by forming the planters protective association the ppa in nineteen o four the ppa tried to organize a cooperative farmers would withhold their crops from market until at cc agreed to pay fair rates it was a fine idea in theory but like any boycott or strike it depended on unity and in almost every farming community there were non-members who continued to sell to the at low low prices fucking hillbilly scabs and and non-associates, depending on which angry farmer you asked. So now some farmers decided, you know what, fuck the law. It's not just, and it's time to fight it. He-ha-ha! Beginning around 1905, a secret militant wing of the PPA merged. The Knightwriters.

That's a badass name. They were sometimes also called the Silent Brigade. Not as cool. The Nightwriters were masked armed vigilantes who rode through the rural Black Patch counties at night, enforcing cooperation to intimidation, arson, and targeted violence. Their message was simple. Join us or die. Kind of. Join our movement. Stop fucking us over by selling to the monopoly or, you know, get beat up or something. The night riders traveled in groups that sometimes numbered over 100 men all mounted on horses, wearing

masks, hoods, or blackened faces, communicating with military-like discipline, often carrying Winchester rifles or shotguns. Their raids followed a pretty predictable but terrifying pattern. They would surround a farm or an entire town in the dead of night, cut off telegraph lines, and delivered justice to those seen as betraying their cause. They burned tobacco barns, destroyed homes, whipped or beat, I guess, and or, well, whipping is a beating. Sometimes beat with whips, sometimes with something else, non-members, attacked warehouses, cooperated with ATC,

or, excuse me, attacked warehouses that cooperated with ATC. In their most infamous raids, the 1907 takeover of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, hundreds of night riders rode into town, overwhelmed the local militia, fucking dynamited ATC warehouses, then controlled the streets for hours while townspeople hit indoors. Similar attacks followed in Princeton, Russellville, and other communities. Despite the violence, many local residents were sympathetic to the night riders.

Rural farmers viewed the ATC as predatory, a monopolistic force backed by wealthy industrialists and distant politicians, while the nightriders, in their minds, are neighbors defending the community survival. In some counties, sheriffs and judges quietly supported them or at least looked the other way. But as the lawlessness escalated, impulses began to creep in. And soon not every victim was a corporate collaborator. Some were to simply personal enemies or people who refused unrelated demands. Lentings, shootings, retaliatory murders began to blur economic protests with outright terrorism. Damn it, guys. Public support began to erode.

The more of the night riders strayed from their original purpose. And soon various state militias were now deployed against them. But also, federal courts took aim at the ATC monopoly. They were fighting. And in 1908 and 1909, after several high-profile arrest and trials, including confessions implicating PPA leaders, the Knight Rider's coordinated power collapsed. But the same year, the night riders fell apart. The U.S. Supreme Court broke up the American Tobacco Company under the Sherman Antitrust Act, destroying the monopoly that had fueled the vigilante rebellion in the first place. So in the end, well, they did accomplish what they wanted. The Knightwriters remained one of the clearest examples in American history of vigilantism born from real economic

desperation. They weren't romantic outlaws. They began as frightened angry farmers who felt abandoned by the government and justified in using violence to balance the scales. Their story also reveals a dangerous tipping point where a community-driven self-defense can mutate and organize terror and how quickly vigilante justice can become indistinguishable from oppression it claims to fight. Now let's jump ahead a decade to look at another big 20th century American vigilante movement, one sanctioned by the U.S. government right after today's second and two mid-show sponsor breaks. Thanks for listening to those sponsors. Hope you heard some deals you liked. And now let's head to 1917. The U.S. entered World War I, April 6, 1917. And because the country needed additional manpower to ensure domestic security while so many American men were now either fighting abroad or stuck on a military base domestically, President Woodrow Wilson appealed to American sense of volunteerism and, quote, vigilantee traditional.

by authorizing the American Protective League. The American Protective League was an organized organization of private citizens that worked with federal law enforcement. Their mission was to identify suspected German sympathizers and to counteract radicals, anarchists, anti-war activists, and left-wing labor and political organizations. The APL claimed a full 250,000 members at its peak, and similar organizations sprung up, including the Knights of Liberty. Knights of Liberty was an American volunteer nationalist secret society in

Vigilance Committee based in Oklahoma, they claim responsibility for violence against perceived disloyalty to the U.S., and they were a bunch of low-life dipshits, unfortunately. A bunch of brain-dead bullies. Not brave or fit enough to actually fight in the war, but more than capable of ganging up on innocent immigrants and terrorizing them instead. The group's primarily known for the 1917 Tulsa Outrage and the 1918 lynching of Ollie Kinkinen in Minnesota, as well as a spree of tariff. and feathering events in 1918 in both Wisconsin and California. Leading up to the Tulsa outrage, the Tulsa Daily World reported on the alleged German control of the industrial workers of the World Union. And on November 9th, 1917, 11 IWW members were convicted of vagrancy or failure to own

liberty bonds. They might not just had the money to buy liberty bonds. These are some bullshit charges, it sounds like to me. While they were being taken to the county jail, along with six others who had been arrested, that they were abducted by a mob of 40 to 50 men, led by KKK member and Tulsa founder W. Tate Brady and police chief Ed Lucas. The men wore black robes and masks,

and they called themselves the Knights of Liberty. 17 men were taken to a deserted area where they were stripped, bound to a tree, whipped, tarred, and feathered. They were then chased off with guns. They were turned away by local farmers when they sought refuge and help, all because they just didn't seem patriotic enough

and had funny accents, I guess. the men returned to Tulsa but found threatening signs posted around the city signed by the vigilance committee Germans not welcome find some other place to live Knights of liberty also claim responsibility for the lynching of as I mentioned Ollie Kinkinen in Duluth Minnesota this poor motherfucker September 18th 1918 Kinkin in a Finnish American and five others renounced their rights to U.S. citizenship because they didn't want to fight in the war and that same night a small mob of people who didn't care for that decision formed and went out looking for them and they found Kinkinen in his boarding house preparing to return to Finland, right?

So what's the problem? He was heading back to Finland. He didn't want to be in the U.S. anymore. He wasn't even trying to not fight but stay in America. But the mob didn't care. They demanded the registration papers of the residents of the boarding house. Then they told Kinkanen that he was wanted by the draft board. He was taken not to the draft board but to a random park where he was interrogated about his loyalty to the U.S.

Those who knew Kinkin in later said he didn't know enough English to even understand what the fuck they were asking him. mob didn't care. They didn't like this foreigner, so Kinkinan was tarred and feathered. The local paper received a tip at midnight about the incident, later published a letter from the Knight's Liberty saying that this was a warning to all slackers, a term for men who refused to join the military. The knight sent the same list of questions and a warning to the other five men who renounced their citizenship. Kinkinen was not seen again after the incident, at least not again alive. But on September 30th, his dead body was found hanging from a tree and Lester Park outside of Duluth.

Several hundred dollars and war-saving stamps were found on his body. Authorities declared his suicide, saying he was triggered by the humiliation of the taring and feathering. He did have a lot of money on him, but many did not think for a second that he had taken his own life.

They were sure he had been lynched. The governor offered a reward for information, but no one was ever charged. The knights would go on to claim responsibility for a number of other abductions, beatings, taring, and feathering incidents, lynchings. Their victims were primarily

anybody who criticized the war effort and you know wasn't from america their violence seemed to have widespread support some of their actions were documented by newspapers the deluth herald reported in one nineteen eighteen uh paper its members are almost holy business and professional men of high standing men who beyond the draft age and unfitted for year by years of physical condition excuse me unfitted by years or physical condition to join the military forces of the nation are determined to do their bit by suppressing disloyalty and seeing to it that the nation shall not be assailed from within. The Knights of Liberty also made threats to local residents, which were published to newspapers. The Duluth News Tribune published the following warning March 24th, 1918.

You have reached the end of the road. If you say one more word, even in a whisper, or lift one finger against this country or her allies, you are a marked man. If the law cannot reach you, we can, and we will. You put that in all caps. While our boys are fighting for us in France, you are fighting against us at home. Aided by German gold, you have been continually at work, poisoning the minds of the ignorant, seeking to hinder the raising of government funds, discouraging enlistments, obstructing the merciful work of the Red Cross, striving to spread disaffection and unrest amongst our loyal working people, and in countless other devious, subtle, and stealthy

ways carrying out the orders of your imperial master, the German Kaiser. You have sold your soul to the Prussian devil, but perhaps you still have your common sense. if so you will take this warning in deadly earnest If you don't believe what we mean If you don't believe we mean what we say Try us And you will find that what we applied to the traitor Was mild compared to what will happen to you

So yeah so fun times To be a German-American in Duluth Yeah real fun times to have You know maybe contrasting opinion about the war Holy shit Always fucking kills me That a lot of times the same people Who are the first to be like

The Land of the Free are the same ones like Shut the fuck up You either fucking do what I say Or fuck you forever It's like how do your fucking P brain How does your P brain not understand The dichotomy there

Like the contrast there That like if you are fighting for freedom Shouldn't you support freedom It seems so obvious to me But so many people It just fucking Goes right through their fucking head The Altus Weekly News

Based in Alta's Oklahoma Published the following on March 21st 1918 Warning to all pro-German sympathizers, slackers, and knockers. I love that couple. Listen, are you a sympathizer, a slacker, or a knocker? Fucking listen up, you son of a bitch.

To all pro-German sympathizers, slackers, and knockers against liberty bonds and other war measures. While our brave boys are falling in France and facing a hundred million huns far over the ocean, we, the Knights of Liberty of Oklahoma and Texas feel we would be cowards, curs, and traitors to allow sneering and unpatriotic citizens to live amongst us without being punished. we therefore call your attention to the fact that your health and peace will be best conserved by either getting in strong and doing your full duty or looking for other localities all caps we have stood and we will stand lower case the incident of monday night will be repeated as often as necessary to make our country 100% patriotic in behalf of the boys who are dying over there we are the knights of liberty okay uh the incidents they're referring to uh or the the incident is the kidnapping, whipping, and tarrying and feathering of two farmers, Henry Huffman and O.F. Westbrook, suspected of supporting German aims during World War I, failing to purchase liberty bonds to support the war effort and openly cursing the government.

In addition to being whipped and tarred and feathered, they were also forced to kiss the American flag and then ordered to leave the country, or county, excuse me. Guys like that remind me of who, like, you know, do these kind of fucking things. They remind me of this oathkeeper in Priest River, Idaho. I met several years ago He tried to recruit me to fight To fight Antifa Just some fucking guy

Ran into in a coffee shop It looked just as crazy as it sounds He tried to recruit me to fight Antifa Back in 2020 Dude was armed of the teeth You know He's packing He's bat shit fucking crazy

Full on backwoods CUN on Weirdo Probably white supremacist Who just wanted me to go to war With him against some buggy man He was convinced Was gonna start carrying out Some kind of terrorist strike

In northern Idaho Which of course never happened World War I It would have been won the same way On the same fucking day If the knight to liberty cunts Would have never existed They're so just full of shit

These kind of people Their nationalism did literally nothing To help America Other than just add an embarrassing shit stain To the nation's history Next group Jumping up to the next World War There are numerous examples

Of vigilante justice taking place in prisoner war camps For World War II As documented by the Military Review The Journal of the U.S. Army In 1943, a German submarine, U-118, was attacked and sunk off the U.S. coast, one of the few survivors, machinist Werner Drexler. Drexler repudiated his allegiance to Germany, showed a willingness to help naval intelligence, and for seven months he stayed at the Joint Interrogation Center at Fort Hunt, Virginia.

He moved from cell to cell under aliases, telling German submarine crew members that he was one of them and encouraging them to reveal sensitive information. In March of 1944, Drexler was suddenly transferred to Army Control, sent to an internment camp at Papago Park, Arizona. Their speculation this was done with full knowledge of the danger to Drexler, who was no longer useful as an informant. Navy later said they stamped his file with a notation of do not intern with U-boat men, but Papago was the primary POW camp for U-boat crews. Drexler's former cellmates who knew him by different names recognized him immediately. and it didn't go well six hours after his arrival he was beaten and hanged in the shower room fucking six hours and he's dead after an interrogation a man named autostangle broke

and gave the names of his killers to interrogators the defendants maintained that they were following german military law that they killed drexler in self-defense they explained the director and the sailors who interpreted his presence at papago park as an attempt to get them to be complicit in his treason felt they had to end him quickly all those defendants sentenced to death Okay, now we will move up our timeline ahead to well-known vigilante groups in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. If the nightwriters of Kentucky were a vigilante response to rural economic oppression, the magnificent 13, later known as the Guardian Angels, represent the opposite end of America's vigilante spectrum, an urban media-savvy crime-fighting group born in one of the most chaotic periods of New York City history. To start with on this one, check out this intro to an old episode. of 30 minutes, which was a show that ran from 1978 to 1982 on CBS.

It was patterned after 60 minutes, but directed at a younger audience. In the history of our country, and indeed in the history of the world, there have been countless incidents in which people frustrated at the inability of the law to protect them from crime and violence took matters into their own hands. In early America, these groups were called vigilantes, committees formed to keep order and punish crime. Although controlling crime is the duty of the police, sometimes in modern America, it seems the muggers are winning. In early 1979, a group of young people in the South Bronx section of New York City had had enough.

They banded together to form the magnificent 13 and started sending out patrols with orders to stop crime on the subways. Three and a half million people ride the subways each day. fast, inexpensive, reliable transportation, to and from, jobs and errands. But when the sun goes down and the rush of the day is over, it becomes a different world. An average of only one cop for about every 2,000 paying passengers, the transit police are hard-pressed to do the job. At one point, they were trying to cope with more than 200 serious crimes, felonies, each week. The situation outraged, 23-year-old Curtis Slewa, the night. manager in a McDonald's restaurant, and he hit upon the idea of citizen patrols to look for

and interrupt subway crimes. Soon, the red beret and t-shirt uniform of the Magnificent 13 started becoming familiar to riders as three four-man teams took to the trains each night. Yeah, that group emerged in the late 70s, a time when New York City in general was dangerous, almost lawless in places when the subway system was widely considered to be the most dangerous public transportation network in the entire world. I'll also check out just really quick. I'm not going to do a bunch of, you know, cliffs over and over and over, but another one here. This is from a local news station, and this is from a blackout in the summer of 1977, just to kind of show what was going on in New York around this time.

Well, there is absolutely no doubt about one thing concerning this blackout. There was terror in a lot of neighborhoods last night. Police have described the looters as animals. Thousands were arrested. 78 policemen injured, one of them shot in the leg. He's okay. Steve Baumann was in the thick of things shortly after it broke out. Like a swarm of locust is the way one Harlem cop described the looters

ripping through whole blocks of stores within a couple of hours after the lights went out. Hundreds of off-duty officers called in and were back on patrol in about the same time, but the packs of roving thieves hit so many places at once in some areas that countless stores were stripped bare before police arrive. So sounds like this place right needs some extra help controlling crime, trains are covered in graffiti you know uh policing is inconsistent at best violent crime so common that many commuters refused to ride after dark city uh just in general grip by reputation for lawlessness budget collapses what newspapers called the fear factor a sense that nobody's in control and then enter as uh you heard in that first little clip uh curtis slywa you might know him from a recent new york city mayoral uh mayor's office run uh he was then a 24 year old bronx mcdonald's night manager with maybe more energy than fear. In 1977,

disgusted by the constant muggins he witnessed on his commute, he organized a volunteer group originally called the Magnificent 13, and you heard in that clip that by 1979 they're being called that, small band of unarmed civilians who rode the subways at night

to act as a deterrent to criminals and intervene when necessary. They wore a distinctive red berets, white t-shirts emblazoned with a winged logo, you know, instantly recognizable. Some point in 1979, they rebranded themselves as the Guardian Angel,

and their profile skyrocketed. Their state admission provide a visible nonviolent citizen-led presence to protect ordinary New Yorkers, excuse me, when the city's outstretched or overstretched police force could not. The Angels patrolled not just trains in platforms and subway stations, but also crime-ridden neighborhoods using only physical presence, radio communication, martial arts training, and citizens' arrest laws. They operated in a structured, almost paramilitary style with patrols,

you know, their uniforms, ranks, a code of conduct, that required volunteers to be drug-free, clean-cut, and disciplined from the beginning the guardian angels were controversial. Supporters praised them as a grassroots hero, willing to do what the government had seemingly failed to do, make the subway safer. Crime statistics did indeed drop on some lines where angels patrolled, and many New Yorkers felt an immediate psychological boost, just seeing those red berets walking around on the trains. Critics, including much of the NYPD leadership, accused them to be in vigilantes, cause playing as law enforcement with no accountability, police unions claim they interfere with investigations,

made unsafe citizens' arrests, and escalated situations they did not fully understand. There were allegations of misconduct within the ranks, instances of angels being arrested or assaulted, and a well-publicized series of fabricated heroic rescue stories in the early years that Slee-Wa later admitted he did make up in order to draw media attention to subway crime. Despite the scandals, public support for the angels remained surprisingly strong because New York was still desperate for help in reducing crime. Crime was sky high, heading to the 80s, a sense of urban abandonment was real.

Many residents saw the Angels, not as vigilantes, but as community self-defense force, stepping into a power vacuum. By the mid-1980s, the group had expanded to over 100 cities across the U.S. and abroad. Their international chapters operated in places

like London, Toronto, Tokyo, Sydney, and Johannesburg. The Angels became part of pop culture, appeared on talk shows and movies and in comic books, even their critics had to admit, you know, they were organized, disciplined, and not going away. As New York City's crime rate declined, going into the 90s and 2000s, the Guardian Angels evolved. They continued subway and street patrols, but added youth outreach programs, anti-bullying initiatives, neighborhood watches, and community self-defense training. That's pretty badass.

In the 2010s in 2020s, they experienced a resurgence during periods of heightened concern over subway assaults, random violence and racial harassment incidents. They remain unarmed by rule. Appoint Sliwa has always emphasized to distance the group from paramilitary vigilantes. The angels position themselves as crime preventers, not

law enforcers. Today, the Garden Angels continue to exist much smaller than at their peak, but still active, still wearing the red braids, still walking the subways. Still a lightning rod for debate about where community service ends and vigilante justice begins. The other legacy is a complicated one, a volunteer force,

born from urban despair shaped by media spectacle, alternately praise as saviors and denounces showboats, and now a permanent part of the strange, sprawling story of American vigilante justice. So pretty cool. You know, overall, it seems like this has been a very good group. There's been controversies, but they seem to have, you know, helped prevent a lot of crime and just helped a lot of people in need.

And the youth outreach, the self-defense train, that's awesome shit. Now let's back up a few years after the Garden Angels formed. Head to Germany for a very intense example. of personal vigilantism. Marianne Bachmeier, a West German mother, and she shot and killed Klaus Grabowski, a dangerous pedophile who was on trial for the rape and murder of her daughter, Anna.

It's probably one of the most well-known cases of vigilante justice in modern history, a case that received extensive international coverage still discussed today. Mary Ann born June 3rd, 1950, grew up in a small town in West Germany, her parents fled there from East Prussia after the Second World War.

In early 19792, 21-year-old Marianne began dating the manager of the pub where she worked. She quickly became pregnant and her daughter Anna was born November 14th of that year. Marianna and Anna lived in Lubeck, West Germany. Marianna's dad didn't end up staying together and she raised Anna as a single mom. And on May 5, 1987-year-old Anna had an argument with her mom and decided to skip school. And then she was abducted by her next-door neighbor, 35-year-old Klaus Krabowski, a local butcher, whom she had visited before to play with his cats and that motherfucker had a prior criminal

record for child molestation she had visited him before while her mom was sleeping it seems Marianne worked late had to sometimes take her daughter to work often had to sleep you know during the day when Anna was around and sometimes little girl was on her own because Marianne could not afford to hire a babysitter had no family nearby willing to help her with Anna

Klaus, that fucking slimy predator probably was very familiar with this situation and targeted Anna partially because of it. And in 1976, after sexually abusing two other little girls, he voluntarily submitted to chemical castration, but then secretly underwent hormone treatment and reversed it. And he would hold little Anna at his apartment for several hours and sexually assaulted her repeatedly

before strangling her with a pair of his fiancé's tights, then packed her dead body into a cardboard box, walked it over to the bank of a canal, dumped it in like she was just nothing but trash. Grubowski arrested after his fiancee found out, what he had done and called the police and then he quickly confessed to the murder. Grabowski, that sick, pathetic fuck, claimed he had killed seven-year-old Anna because she attempted to seduce him.

Then she blackmailed him by asking for money and threatening to accuse him of sexual assault if he didn't pay her. Does that sound to you like something a seven-year-old kid does? I love this blackmail scheme. Yeah, me neither. Grabowski's trial started March 4th, 191. His defense used his previous voluntary castration to argue he was experiencing an imbalance of hormones. That's why he did it.

It just wasn't on the right meds, essentially. So, you know, not totally his fault. Marianne listened to this bullshit in the courtroom. She heard an excruciating detail what Grabowski had done to her daughter in the little girl's final hours. And at around 10 a.m., March 6, 1981, the third day of his trial, Bachmeier smuggled a gun into the Lubbeck District Court, shot that motherfucker dead. Fired seven times, hit him every time but once. Grabowski died almost instantly on the courtroom floor.

and Germany now debated whether or not Marianne was justified in killing Grabowski and whether she was guilty of manslaughter or murder based on whether or not the shooting was premeditated. November 2nd, 1982, Marianne is charged with murder, but then prosecutors dropped that charge. Hell yeah. March 2nd, 1983, she's convicted of manslaughter, an unlawful possession of a firearm. She sentenced to six years in prison, released on probation after serving three. She sold her life story to the news magazine Stern, used her money to cover her legal costs, the German government faced criticism now for not realizing that a convective sex offender had used hormones to replace, you know, regain his libido, and for letting him off with such a light sentence.

In 1985, Marianne married a teacher. They moved to Lagos, Nigeria, lived in a German community there, where her husband taught at a German school. They divorced five years later, 1990. Maryan moved to Sicily, where she worked as an aide in a hospice in Palermo. And there, this poor woman gets diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, returns to Germany. On September 21st, 1995, appears on a talk show admits to carefully considering the shooting beforehand, said she wanted to enforce a law on Grabowski and prevent him from spreading more lies about her daughter. In her 2006 documentary, a former friend of Marianne,

will say she rehearsed the shooting in the basement under the pub after her daughter was murdered. And then Marianne died, September 17th, 1996 at the age of 46, her body buried next to Annis. Was this bid of vigilantism justified? I mean, I'm going to be honest, I do like it. He was already a sex offender. He confessed to Anna's murder.

His defense attorneys weren't arguing that he did not do it. They were arguing why he did it. While I like it, I also understand that if Marianne was not punished for this, that does set a dangerous precedent, right? More people are going to feel emboldened to play executioner. In addition to killing pitoes, maybe they start killing people who stole from them. Maybe they kill people who look guilty but actually aren't. And, you know, when they try to kill people, maybe they miss. shoot innocent bystanders.

And if you just keep playing this out further and further, eventually things just become very, you know, anarchic. So emotionally, I love it. Logically, while I would give her such a light sentence, for the sake of society, I would still want her to have some kind of sense. My dad, on the other hand, 100% for it, doesn't care at all about any precedent it sets.

He told me he's a, quote, man of action. And that why should he care about a precedent when, quote, he doesn't know what that word means? He says, the only good Pito is a dead Pito. But then he also said, fuck the IRS too. Only good IRS agents, a dead IRS agent. And they said the same thing about politicians, and then Dennis for some reason,

and also people who take too long deciding what flavor they want at the ice cream shop. Again, I don't think we should take anything my dad says very seriously. Now let's jump ahead a few years to look at a very similar case involving an American. Gary Leon Ploucher made headlines in 1984 for killing Jeffrey Ducet. a child molester who kidnapped and raped his son. Ploucher killed Ducet as he was being escorted through the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport by law enforcement to face charges.

Plouche was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, separated at the time of the killing from his wife, June. He was a sergeant in the Air Force and also worked as a heavy equipment salesman. And his son Jody Plowche was only 10 when Ducet began to molest him. Jody, now 53 years old, would share his story with People Magazine

in July of this year. In the fall of 1982, Jody and his fifth-grade classmates received a flyer for karate classes. He wasn't interested, so he threw it in the garbage. But after his little brother, Mike, received the same flyer and brought it home, their mom, June, signed him both up. Actually, three brothers, Mike, Jody, and oldest brother Bubba. Signed him up for karate classes in January of 83 with instructor Jeff Doucette.

And Jody told people, we all loved him. Jeff started coming to the house for family game nights. Soon it was like he was another member of the family. But not long after this dude who was fucking. way too into hanging out with little boys started showing up with the mom's house he began molesting Jody In a 2012 interview with ESPN

Jody recounted the day the abuse started he asked which of the kids wanted to learn to drive and Jody raise his hand. Cut later that day when he's sitting on Jeff's lap steering the vehicle and Jeff places his hands on Jody's lap Jody thought it could have been an accident so he doesn't say anything right

the motherfucker's grooming him Jody told people I think what first started was when we would be stretching a karate class because you got to get in the splits and he'd be like here let me help you we put our feet on cardboard and we do a split and now he's like feel how you're tight right there and that was kind of him normalizing put his hands between my legs but not touching my private parts but he's touching my inner thighs which is close to my private parts so i think that was his first kind of trick to normalize that the abuse eventually of course escalated and soon jeff was sending

other boys out for snacks during class, then keeping Jody back with him. According to Jody, quote, he'd be like, all right, Jody, you go work on some extra kicks. And he'd give them money, be like, hey, look, I want a Coke and a pack of M&Ms. You all get what you want, one of each. He'd send them to the gas station down the street, which would take them 15, 20 minutes, maybe not even that long, 10, 50 minutes, but he could get done what he needed to get done. Damn. Jody kept the secret from his parents because he knew it would upset them.

He figured he would be able to keep quiet until Jeff finally stopped. Jody also started trying to come up with excuses to not go to karate But then Jeff would show up at his house Make him go June thought her son's coach just knew best Man how terrible did she feel When she found out the truth

March of 1984 Jeff straight up kidnapped Jody Right Always just continues to escalate with these sick fucks Takes him on a bust From Port Arthur, Texas heading to Los Angeles Almost makes it

Jody's parents called a police And they find him in a motel in Anaheim Jody recall he was watching TV in the motel when FBI agents broke down the door, he said, all the guns were my face. They took me out of the room, and that was the last time I saw Jeff. On March 16th, 1984,

a week after test results, confirmed that Jody had been sexually assaulted, Jeff has extradited to Baton Rouge on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault. And Jody's dad, right there waiting for that motherfucker. Gary Ploucher, armed with a 38 snub-nosed revolver, already at the airport when he landed.

Just before the shooting, Gary called his best friend from a payphone, watched Jeff walk by, giving him a reason to be near Jeff, also not be noticed by the police. He told his friend, you're going to hear the shot, and then killed Jeff just a moment later. An officer asked, why in the hell would you do something like this? And Gary responded, if he'd have done that to your family, you would have done the same thing, too. June would visit Gary later that night at the jail, and she would tell him, quote,

you know you're going to hell, right? What? That's what you say to him that night? Not sorry, I invited that fucking random dude. I wasn't dating into our house to hang out with our kids. not sorry I kept sending him back to go to lessons when he tried to get out of him. Not, hey, I know I didn't know what he was doing,

but still, I'm sorry. Not even, you should have never done that, but, you know, I get it. Not the biggest fan of June right now. Gary said he didn't care if he's going to hell. Wanted his son to at least know that guy was gone forever now. Gary was charged with second degree murder, pled no contest, May 16th, 1985.

He received a suspended sentence of seven years hard labor, five years probation with 300 hours of community service, served not a day of prison time. fuck yeah i know again this that's a bad president but hail nimrod the doctor who examined gary concluded that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shooting

i like this doctor gary quote developed a sense of righteous mission directed by what gary sensed as the voice of jesus telling him that if he did not kill his son sexual molester that the man would continue to harm his son and other children huh okay that's a little nuts

but i still i still love the outcome also darkly funny to me for him to be hearing like a angry Jesus that way. You know, of all the voices he could hear, he's hearing Jesus be like, kill him, Gary. You kill that mother trucker. There's no turning to their cheek.

Not today, Satan. You get him! Get him, Gary. Gary spent his community service hours, painting and cutting grass at a local Catholic church in school. I like it. Plouchet died in 2014 to age of 68, after suffering multiple strokes. Son Jody went on to become an advocate

for victims of child sexual abuse. And in 2019, he would publish a memoir titled Why, Gary, Why? to share his story, remind readers that just like he had done, they can move on and not let their past to find him or her, no matter how traumatic. Jody also teaches parents how to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse. And again, in this year's interview, he told People magazine,

I would advise any parent whose child's been molested to be there for their child and not to take the law into your own hands and put yourself in a position to be prosecuted. It's all right, pretty interesting, that he went on to advise people to not do what his dad did. He explained in an earlier interview with ESPN I got a letter once from a woman who wrote I told my daughter if somebody ever touches you inappropriately It's not murder It's worse than murder

It kills a child's soul So what's the little girl supposed to say if she ever gets molested She doesn't want her soul to die So she doesn't tell anybody He added my dad was absolutely too extreme He used to tell people If anybody ever touches my kid I'll kill him I knew he wasn't kidding

That's why I couldn't tell anybody And that's exactly what he ended up doing You know what? Fair point. My sense of righteous vengeance loves that his abuser was killed. I'm not going to lie, I would fucking enjoy killing a motherfucker like that. But Jody makes a very smart point, right? That it didn't help. It made him, you know, shut down.

And, you know, his dad could have helped him in a different way earlier on if he wasn't saying that kind of stuff. I've been guilty to that myself. Also, in his people interview, Jody explained that sexual abusers, quote, gain the trust and the affection of the child and that's really kind of their protection because I didn't want Jeff dead I didn't want Daddy to hurt Jeff I just wanted Jeff to stop doing what he was doing

which he never would have but that was just the hope back then the prayers I would say at night Jody said about the legal proceedings I gave him his dad the cold shoulder for a couple months and then finally once I accepted the fact that daddy's back he's putting in new floors

he's putting in new ceiling fans he's paying the walls he's doing home improvements mommy dad are getting along really good I think it was that summer we were walking down to the pool and I told him, I said, look, I forgive you. I'm not mad at you no more. I understand why you did it. And I think that meant a lot. But I mean, we really didn't talk about it a lot. That was probably one of the most we ever talked about it. Oh, man. They had to have been a mind fuck for Gary, right? To kill his son's abuser, but then have a son, you know, barely talk to him for months, be mad at him. But again, you know, I do understand what Jody's saying as much as I can. You know, he is right. And that's why leaning on our emotions. Not on reason is generally not the best way to go in life. I, I I hate that because I'm a very emotional person, but I do understand it. Our next two vigilante cases will take us to India in the early 2000s, and they are fucking incredible.

This is my favorite part of the episode. August 13th, 2004, a creeps named Aku Yadav is lynched by a mob of about 200 women from the Kasturba Nagar neighborhood in the city of Nagpur. In just 15 minutes, the women stoned and hacked to death a serial rapist who had terrorized them from, more than a decade. This case was covered in the 2022 Netflix docu-series Indian Predator Murder in a courtroom, which I, you know, to be fair, I've not seen. But the women had been, but I do want to see it after this. The women had been literally laughed at or insulted by the police whenever they had reported him. So they finally decided enough's enough. And they took justice into their own hands. Yadav, who came from an affluent family and his gang had allegedly

been terrorized about 300 families in this neighborhood of Kasturba Nagar for years. They would just barge into people's homes, demand money, abuse them, rape people. Adava, Yadav supposedly murdered at least three people, dumped their bodies in the railway tracks. Citizens had filed dozens and dozens of reports against him with the police over the years, but the reports would just disappear or Yadav will be granted bail and never punished. According to the Guardian, it was rape that Yadav used to break and humiliate the community. A rape victim lives in every other house in the slum, say the residents of Kastarba Nagar. He violated women to control men, ordering his henchmen to drag even girls as young as 12 to a nearby derelict building to be gang raped. In India, it is especially taboo for a woman to admit she's been raped.

However, dozens of victims did report that Yadav and or his henchmen raped them. But time and time again, never charged. Instead, the police who are believed to have been bribed by Yadav over and over again would sometimes tell him or tell his men which victims made the reports so that his men could go find them and attack. them all over again, or they would accuse them of lying. When one 22-year-old woman reported Yadav for rape, the police accused her of having an affair with him and just sent her away. Others were told some version of, you're a loose woman. That's why he raped you.

Fuck. 25-year-old Ushah Naranyi wasn't untouchable at the bottom of India's cast ladder. Many of the women in Kasturba Nagar don't have the opportunity to get an education. But Usha had earned a diploma in hotel management, gotten a job in a call center. She had plans to travel north to start a management job in Punjab. Ushu was visiting home on school break when the family next door to her was attacked by Yadav's gang. The gang warned Ushah not to go to the police, but she did anyway. And then about two weeks before he was killed, Yadav came to Ush's home several days in a row.

One day he came to her home with a group of about 40 dudes. He brandished a bottle of acid, threatened to mutilate Ush's face before he raped and murdered her. Fuck! I'm fucking kidding. I said, I'm fucking. Cammy. Right, Miles? Usha barricaded her door, turned on the gas, threatened to blow everybody up if they broke in. Smart. Gang backed off. The residents of the neighborhood, while too afraid to confront the mob and risk being mutilated and or raped and or murdered themselves, we're very proud of her for standing up and defending herself like this. Usha told the guardian, he raped only poor people whom he thought would not go and tell, or if they did, they wouldn't be listened to. But he made a big mistake in threatening me. People felt that if I were attacked, no woman would ever be safe. week later, people in the community started to talk about taking real action against Yadav, and he disappeared from the neighborhood, worried that a lynch mob was now going to come

for him. Usha and her brother-in-law went to their local deputy commissioner, somebody not actually taken bribes from Yadav, who gave them a safe house for the night, promised to search for Yudav. Then on August 6, an angry mob of hundreds of residents destroyed Yadav's house, fuck yeah, by that evening they heard he had surrendered and was in custody for his own safety, due to appear in court the next day. And then that day, about 500 people, mainly women gathered outside of the court. As Yadav arrived, one of his men attempted to pass him knives wrapped in a blanket. Women in the crowd protested.

They saw this, called it out. The accomplice was arrested. Yadav taken back into custody. And then he really fucked up when he threatened to return and teach every woman a lesson. When the neighborhood heard, he was likely to get bail again. The women decided to act the next time he was appearing in court. Usha explained, it was not calculated. It was not a case that we all sat down and calmly planned what would happen.

It was an emotional output. The women decided that if necessary, they would go to prison, but that this man would never come back and terrorize them. August 13th was the day of the hearing. About 200 women came to the court armed with knives or chili powder to throw in his eyes, or just armed with rage. Yadav spotted a woman he had raped in the crowd, called her a prostitute, threatened to repeat the crime once he was back home.

This motherfucker, the police officers escorting him actually laughed at that. But then she took off her sandal and she started to hit him. She shouted, on this earth together. It's you or me. And that act triggered the mob attack. This is fucking incredible. A bunch of women threw chili powder in his face. Others pelted him with stones. The two officers, they ran away for their own safety. The women started to stab him. They would stab him over 70 times. One of the women would cut his fucking dick off with a vegetable knife and he'd be dead within 15 minutes. Just fucking mutilated in pieces. Five women were arrested, but all of them

released following a massive demonstration held for them across the city. Nearly every woman in Castabar would claim responsibility for the attack. That's so awesome. They would dare the police to arrest all of them. I love the story so much. Ushah Naranyi told the Guardian, after the murder, society's eyes opened. The police failings came to light.

That has irritated them. The police see me as a catalyst for the exposure and want to nip it in the bud. I am not scared. I'm not ashamed. We have done a good thing for society. We will see whether society repays us. Prominent lawyers issued a statement

that the women should be treated as victims, not killers, as fucking heroes, Justice Bavahain, a retired high court judge said, In the circumstances they underwent, they were left with no alternative but to finish Aku Yadav. The women repeatedly pleaded with the police

for their security, but the police failed to protect them. Usha told authorities she was not at court when the attack took place. She was out-collecting signatures for a mass complaint against Yadav. Still, she was charged with serious offenses including anti-nationalist crimes

amounting to treason, but quickly released on bail, Ushah said, the cops say I planned the murder, that I started it. They have to make someone a scapegoat. She thinks she was singled out because she was a very vocal critic of the police. But then she was ultimately acquitted of all charges in 2012. She has since become a social activist, has worked to improve the lives of women in her community. She founded and directs the Costa Ragh Nagar Community Project,

which gives entrepreneurial and job training to 250 women from her neighborhood. They learn computer work, clothing design, manufacturing, catering, baking, food processing more, and hail Lusufina, sometimes you do need an angry mob to protect people. If the police aren't doing their job, if they're corrupt, if they're not protecting your community, then I truly believe, as illustrated by this case, that vigilantism is not just a moral act, but a necessary one.

And now for a second awesome example of vigilantism from India. In 2006, a female vigilante group called the Gulabi gang, formed in the state of Uttar Pradesh. They're dedicated to protecting women from domestic abuse, sexual violence, and oppression, Membership is signified by a bright pink sari. The pink gang is based in one of the poorest areas of Uttar Pradesh, one of India's most populous states. They are the world's largest existing women's vigilante group with an estimated 20,000 members in India, and then more members in a smaller network in France.

Their unofficial headquarters can be found in Banda City, Uttar Pradesh. Over 20% of the more 1 million people living in villages in Banda are at the bottom of the caste hierarchies. that the Indian Constitution bans discrimination against Dalits or untouchables. However, this is not practiced socially, and the Dalit communities, the lowest caste in India's archaic and frankly disgusting caste system, are repressed, often live in poverty, not protected by law enforcement. And I guess a quick note on this caste system to help understand it now. India's caste system, it's an ancient social hierarchy with roots and Hindu teachings that categorizes people into hereditary groups, historically determining their occupation, social status. degree of dignity or protection they can expect from society. So fucked.

While outlawed by the Indian Constitution in 1950, caste discrimination is still very real today, continued to shape access to justice, education, and safety in many parts of the massive country. A very populated country, I should say. The traditional system is often described as having four major varnas or classes. There's Brahmans at the top, priests, scholars, spiritual leaders. There's Shatria's warriors, rulers, and administrators below them. Vichias, merchants, traders, business people, and then Shudra, laborers, and service providers, and then basically outside of the system entirely are the Dalits, you know, long called the untouchables. Still called that today by many, I'm sure.

Historically, they've been forced into the most dangerous, degrading, stigmatized forms of labor, lived in the worst neighborhoods with the most severe restrictions on where they could live, you know, how they could worship, where they could walk, how they could even draw water. you can typically tell what caste somebody belongs to by their surname the way they talk as far as like their dialect and the slang they use the way they dress what kind of job they have what neighborhood they live in and sometimes i guess you know by the way they look although again technically illegal today structural caste prejudice persists especially in rural areas where caste identity is very rigid enforcement is often informal but you know deeply entrenched uh doll its other marginalized caste groups still face exclusion from public spaces economic exploitation hard retaliation for trying to assert the rights, you know, police neglect or outright hostility from law enforcement, very low conviction rates for crimes committed against them, especially against women in these casts. So in many documented cases, perpetrators from dominant cast target Dalit women because they occupy the lowest tier of social power. The attackers often believe, sadly correctly, in many regions of the police just won't investigate. Families won't be able to afford legal representation. Communities will lack the political clout to demand

injustice. Rape used not only as a gendered crime, but just as a tool of caste domination and intimidation as we saw in the, you know, previous story. The combination of high vulnerability and low institutional protection has led in several states to the formation of vigilante or quasi-vigilante groups composed of marginalized cast members, groups that claim they're stepping in to defend their communities that the police are not defending. Some operate as self-defense collectives for women. Others target known abusers or traffickers. Still others are politically affiliated caste militant organizations formed in direct response to systemic injustice, whether one sees these groups as protectors, vigilantes, or something in between, depends, you know, large and perspective.

But the conditions that led to their emergence are undeniable, entrenched caste hierarchy, unequal access to justice, a long history of violence against those at the bottom of India's social order. Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest rates of dowry demands and deaths, and domestic sexual violence against women of all castes. The area reportedly continues the practice of child marriage, female infanticide, and son preference, basically sons given preferential treatment over daughters and families, less chores, better meals, more help towards her careers, et cetera. Just fucked up, but it happens. The Galabi gang headquarters belonged to a woman named Sampot Paul, the commander-in-chief of the group. Sam-Pot is married to an ice cream vendor, has five kids, is a former government health worker.

she rebelled against caste and gender inequalities from a young age her parents resisted sending her to school but eventually gave in uh her education ended abruptly though when she was married off at the age of nine what the fucking fuck then she had her first kid at the age of 13 fuck arranged marriages oh my god especially child marriages obviously but just the whole concept fuck it so sad so sad that that shit still happens in places but listen if you can't get anyone to marry you willingly you should should not be married. The world does not owe you a partner. I can't talk today. And parents, you actually don't know which spouse is best for your kid. Shut the fuck up. Sam Pot started working as a government health worker, which brought her in close contact with the problems of real women.

She quit because of her frustration with how little the government did to help, you know, village communities. Quit over that. Sam Pot came home one evening in 2002 when she's 42 years old, heard rumors that her friend had been beaten by her alcoholic husband, again, and local police were looking the other. away again. Sam Pot went to help her friend, and then she got beaten up herself. But she wasn't going to give up, right? The husband, you know, her friend's husband beat her too. And then she gathered up some neighbors, returned to the house, and they beat the shit out of the wife beating husband in front of the community. Hail Nimrod and Hail Lucifina. And that inspired her to create a band of vigilante women. Sam Pot said in our villages where food is scarce, and there has been a drought-like situation for 10 years, women are the most abused. I realize that under these

conditions, a woman has to fight to survive. The gang started off with Sam Pot and four of her friends. Over time, the gang attracted dozens more neighbors. And the women began to train, develop their methods. They're like doing fucking martial arts now. Getting better with swinging those sticks, training how to smear men in their eyes with chili powder. Their most popular drill was the use of a lotte, this baton, typically carried by, you know, law enforcement. Sam Pot said, I wanted to work for the people, not for myself alone. I was holding meetings with people, networking with women who are ready to fight for a cause, and we are finally ready with a group of women. The group expanded to 20,000 women in just five years, and then had 10 district commanders

running outposts spanning 36,000 square miles. Members range in age from 18 to 60. Their pink gang stations serve as meeting places where women can discuss their problems. Women come to the stations every day. Some of them walking great distances, hitchhiking or taking bus routes to do so. Those who receive help spread the word, helping the operations expand. Once a formal complaint is lodged, the gang makes a plan of action. According to a member named Chimania,

quote, first we go to the police and beg them to do something. But the administration won't listen to poor people. So we end up taking matters into our own hands. If the police refuse to get involved, gang members will speak to whoever is abusing someone, typically a woman's husband, demand that they change. If they do not change, the gang will invite the wife to join them in a massive fucking beating of him. Hey Lucifina Hey dude

No more hitting your wife You gotta knock that shit off okay I'm sorry what was that Did you literally just say That's not gonna happen All right ladies Let's fucking tune him up Nice and good

Let's change his mind One broken bone at a time Sam Pot noted Our missions have a 100% success rate We have never failed In bringing justice When it comes to domestic problems I love her

She's a fucking boss I want to be here in my next life Other than the getting married at nine part I don't want that part. Actually, I don't want any of her childhood part. Or just, you know, being a fucking marginalized, you know, person in India. The Pink Gang doesn't just beat the shit out of abusive husbands. They also settle land disputes, various neighborhood conflicts,

help poor women get socioeconomic benefits like school admission and food cards. A member Kamat Devi said, though I don't have any designated role in the gang, I end up settling fights between neighbors in the village. When we hear of a rift, we hold meetings with Sam Pot. We try to come up with an amicable solution. It isn't always easy, but people respect the Galabi gang

as we are always neutral. In a 2009 interview, a woman named Banwari Devi explained why she joined the cause saying, come on, take your clothes off. My rapist barked at me. He was a high-cast man. He followed me into the field. I shouldn't have headed to the pastures alone,

especially when the crops had already been harvested, but I really wanted to pee. When the crops are reaped, they are sliced off by sharp sickles, not uprooted. The dried ends of chopped stems are like a bed of nails. If I tried to run barefoot, it would be like running over a field of spikes. The bottom of my feet would have been lacerated. I tried to run on the mud path and knolled through the field, but the man caught up

with me, slammed my head against a tree. Then he took me. After he was finished, he spat on me. Jesus Christ. I was only 18. I went to the police, the politicians. Everyone said I had asked for it, going into the fields by myself. I wept a lot, didn't want to go near the pastures again, yet it was our only source of sustenance. My husband finally left me, and he took our boys. I was left with nothing at a young age. Now I am 52. Yes, I do go around beating men who attack village girls. You ask me why I joined the Golabi gang

so that women after me can walk through fields with long, fearless strides. Damn, Hale Lusufina. I can get my allergies going. Man, regarding what happened to her, yeah, how tragic, of course. But regarding how she turned that around to help others, how just absolutely courageous, amazing and inspiring. My God. The online journal Mass Violence and Resistance Research Network has had more good things to say about the Golabi gang.

It is to be noted that in Banda, the gang's notoriety overstepped the boundaries of gender-related disputes as their violent vigilantism posed a direct challenge to state officials and the government machinery. In June of 2007, the Galabi's received complaints that a government-run fair-price shop was not giving out grain. Samhott and her gang surreptitiously observed the shop owner. The gang eventually intercepted two truckloads of grain marked below poverty line. as they were being shunted off to the open market. Armed with their evidence, the gang members pressured the local administration

to seize the grain and hand over the shop owner to the police. But when local authorities refused to register the case, angry gang members assaulted one of the police officers. That incident immensely bolstered the Golabi gang's credibility in the region. Later that year, the gang stormed a police station where an untouchable man had been held in custody for two weeks

without any case having been filed against him. So they saved guys, too. In 2008, gang members raged in two. to a electricity office in Bonda district, forcing officials to turn back on power that have been switched off in an attempt to extradite or extract bribe, excuse me, from local villagers. In January of 2011, the Galabi's helped a 17-year-old girl

who had been gang-raped by a group of men, including a member of the local legislature. When the rape victim, Shilu Nasad, went to file a case. To her utter dismay, she was arrested by the police under trumped-up charges. Turned out, her attackers had already called the police accusing her of theft. after the girl's father approached the gang for help

the galabi's organized a demonstration in front of the police station and subsequently another in front of the legislator's house the gang's effective intervention led to the rapist arrest and Raul Gandhi, the heir to the Gandhi family's political throne in India traveled 370 miles from New Delhi

to meet the victim. The gang thus struck fear into the hearts of abusive men but also grudgingly earned the wrath and respect of the local administration. Although they are not afraid to use violence, the opinion is emphasized that violence is a last resort. Their goal is to initiate peace talks,

which are usually followed by shaming rituals or demonstrations by the women outside of the homes of the offenders. They typically wear bright pink sorries to give themselves visibility. Sam Pot explained, in rallies and protests outside our villages, especially in crowded cities,

our members used to get lost in the rush. We decided to dress in a single color, which would be easy to identify. We didn't want to be seen in other bright colors as they had associations with political or religious groups. We settled on pink, the color, of life. How cool is that? Some good vigilantism. The cops wouldn't protect those women so they

banded together and they figured out how to protect themselves. Regulators. Mono. Oh, love it. Now let's head down to Mexico, where another group of brave women came together to keep their community safe. On the morning of April 15th, 2011, armed with nothing but rocks and fireworks. A group of women attacked a bus full of armed illegal loggers, as they drove through Cherin, a remote mountain town of about 15,000 people in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

Residents said the loggers who had terrorized Charen for years were protected by La Familia, Michoacana, one of the most powerful criminal organizations of Mexico, a cartel of about 2,000 members, seems like they're mostly known

for producing a bunch of meth, and they were given a free pass by authorities. The town's residents had been victims of rape, kidnapping, extortion, murder by the loggers for years, who had also destroyed and estimated 70% of the surrounding forest by logging everything, just clear-cutting,

instead of being responsible, selective loggers. When the loggers drove through Cherin on April 15th, the town's people or at least the women decided they were done taking their shit. They took some lagers hostage, ran the corrupt local police force out of town, ran corrupt local politicians out of town as well. Wild. Then blocked off the only highway that accessed the town, barricaded themselves in. Then during the first days, their standoff, bans or residents gathered around 200 bonfires roughly that were set up at every intersection in town to stop the loggers from retaliating

kept people on patrols throughout the night the men got in on the action too the whole town was standing up townspeople established this bonfire internal protection system also set up an armed roving security patrol inside town crime was almost completely eradicated

and the residents finally felt safe and the fucking corrupt loggers just went and fucked off this goes on for months then in November of 2011 new representatives in Chiron acquire a degree of autonomy from the government. They work out a deal

where they still receive state and federal funding and citizens must pay taxes but are allowed to govern themselves under a legal framework called uses and customs that has been granted to indigenous communities. To defend ourselves, explained to a community leader,

we had to change the whole system. Out with the political parties, out with city hall, out with the police and everything. We had to organize our own way of living to survive. Yeah, the town has prohibited all political parties

and all political campaigns. Local candidates run individually for spots on a 12-person council. Hail Nimrod, right? No more propaganda bullshit. As of 2017, Sharon had the lowest homicide rate in the entire state of Micawakan

and perhaps even in the entire nation of Mexico. Now let's return to 2011, but head up to Seattle for some comedic relief. Between roughly 2011 and 2015, a city normally associated with coffee, right, good into Iraq, tech bros. sunless, rainy overcast existential dread, became the unlikely headquarters

of one of America's most colorful vigilante movements, the Rain City superhero movement. This is real. Real life Cape Crusaders patrolled the streets like fucking some low-budget Avengers assembled from a game-stop clearance rack. This group consisted of ordinary citizens, weird but ordinary,

who adopted comic book-inspired personas, suited up in homemade costumes, and patrol the city streets in an effort to deter crime, perform citizens' arrests, and help vulnerable residents. At their peak, they claimed over a dozen active superheroes, with names ranging from actually intimidating to, you must have came up with that at 3 a.m. after a monster energy binge.

The most famous member of the group, and essentially its leader, was Phoenix Jones, a mixed martial artist, birth name Benjamin John Francis Fador. Phoenix Jones wore a black and gold armored suit. They contained a bulletproof vest and stab plating, as well as equipment including a stun baton, pepper spray, or tear gas, handcuffs and a first aid kit. Some real-life Batman shit.

Dude's actually a legit mixed martial artist, too, won seven professional fights. He primarily patrolled Belltown and Pioneer Square, quickly became the face of the movement, said he got into the vigilante lifestyle after somebody smashed his car window in front of a bunch of bystandards and no one did shit. He decided Seattle needed some civilians, willing to step up. And what better way to step up than by inventing a superhero persona and suiting up like he was auditioning for kick-ass three clouds and coffee? Around 2011, Jones began making headlines for breaking up fights, pepper-spraying, aggressive individuals, calling 911 performing occasional citizens' arrests for one of many examples of his crime-fighting ways. Late on Sunday night, September 20th, 2015 in downtown Seattle,

he spotted three men, pissed to whip in another man, and after alerting police, dressed up like a superhero, charged the dude holding the gun, knocked it out of his hand, and then subdued these guys who were arrested for assault, one being charged with possession of firearm by a felon. As Jellons grew more visible, more superheroes emerged to join him. This loosely organized crew became known again as the Rain City superhero movement, and members included Thorn, a massed enforcer with martial arts training and a flair for melodramatic interviews.

Buster Doe, the group's Batman and Thrift Store costume equivalent. Green Reaper, a person who unsurprisingly wore green and leaned into a green-reeper aesthetic. The Mantis, a vigilante with a bug-themed persona, prodigy, no-name, catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope, Gemini, and more. Their missions varied. Some patrolled nightlife districts. Others offered homeless outreach.

Others documented crimes with body camps. Some just wanted to be part of something weird and fun that felt meaningful. Seattle's overall reaction to the crew seems to have been, you know, well, it is Seattle. It's just kind of amusement, maybe mild alarm. Seattle police had mixed feelings. On the one hand, RCSM members called 9-1 regularly and occasionally did help disperse fights, fights or keep intoxicated patrons safe. On the other hand, police reportedly, repeatedly warned,

we do not encourage untrained individuals in superhero costumes to confront violent criminals. And on numerous occasions, Seattle PD, seemed to think that Phoenix, his use of pepper spray in particular was pretty excessive. They became local celebrities, frequently interviewed by newspapers, bloggers, you know, appearing on local radio stations, even made the Today Show. They, of course, had critics who felt they were endangering themselves and others, or that the whole thing was just a weird publicity stunt. By 2014, the RSCSM began to fracture. Some members left over disagreements about tactics. Others just appeared in a normal life once a novelty wore off.

A few became disillusioned with Jones increasingly high-profile lifestyle and legal troubles. He was taken into custody quite a few times. Doesn't seem like serious charges were ever filed, though, while he was a member. Phoenix Jones continued to operate independently for several years afterwards, but the movement effectively dissolved around 2014. Did he and his band of fellow superheroes help stop some crimes? Yes, they did. Did they deter crimes?

Hard to say, but I would think so. Overall, I'm going to say more positive than negative. And now let's head further north and further west for a more hard-hitting example of vigilantism, literally, hard-hitting with a hammer. Among America's modern vigilante tales, few are as troubling, tragic, and ethically tangled is the case of Jason Vukovic.

Vukovic, there we go. A man who became known in 2016 as the Alaskan Avenger after attacking several individuals listed in Alaska's public sex offender registry. Vukovic born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1975, and his early life was defined not by crime, at least not by committing crimes, but by crimes being committed against him,

horrific abuse. When he was a kid, his stepdad, Larry Lee Fulton, repeatedly sexually and physically abused both him and his brother, Joel. Vukovic later wrote in a letter to the Anchorage Daily News, Both of my parents were dedicated Christians and had us in every church service available, two or three each week. So you can imagine the horror and confusion I experienced when this man who adopted me began using late, late night prayer sessions, in quotes, to molest me. That motherfucker.

In addition to sexual abuse, Fulton used violence against Vukovic, beating with pieces of wood, whipped him with belts. Years later, at Vukovic's trial, his brother Joel testified that how they'd suffer. for his boys, saying we'd roll over on the bunk beds and be up against the wall. It was my job to go first, so we'd leave Jason alone. Fulton was eventually convicted of child abuse in 1989, but served just a very brief sentence, right? So fucking typical. Around the time he was released when Vukovic was 16, he and his brother ran away.

Still underage, Vukovic moved to Washington State with no identification or financial recourse. He turned to stealing to survive and built a rap sheet with local cops. Vukovic admitted that his descent into crime fit into a cycle of self-hate. that started during, you know, his childhood abuse, he said, my silent understanding was that I was worthless, a throwaway. The foundation was laid in my youth, never went away.

It's so fucking sad. Later letters and interviews, Vukovic said the abuse left him with lifelong trauma. How could it not rage, a sense that the system completely failed him because it fucking did.

Fulton's conviction, the minimal consequences he faced, planted the idea that predators could just harm kids walk away essentially untouched, right? And how many times have we talked about that here? Around 2008,

was back home to Alaska. Fast forward to 2016, Vukovic, now in his early 40s, had struggled throughout adulthood, right, with homelessness, theft charges, substance abuse issues, recurring instability. But according to his own account, the spark that ignited his vigilante spree came when he checked Alaska's publicly accessible sex offender registry, saw the face of a dude who looked a lot like he stepped at. He began scanning the registry compulsively, compiling the list of addresses of registered sex offenders in Anchorage, not based on recent crimes or threats, but simply on their presence in the database. Between June 24th, June 29th, 2016, he carried out a series of violent vigilante attacks. He visited the homes of three

petos, visited him at night, broke in, confronted the men, assaulted them with fists, kicks, and in one case, a fucking hammer. He demanded they, quote, admit what they did, sometimes mentioning their past offenses or referencing the registry. He also stole items, including vehicles, wallets, electronics. Outer's prosecutors will later argue, showed criminal opportunism as opposed to righteous vengeance. One victim, Wesley Demarest, was seriously injured in a hammer attack after Vukovic allegedly told him, I'm an avenger of abused children. He also said, I'm an avenging angel.

I'm going to meet out justice for the people you hurt. Apparently, that guy has never been able to speak full sentences since. And you know what? Fuck that guy. He's a convicted Pito before this shit happened. Police arrested Vukovic June 9th, or excuse me, 29th, 2016 after a traffic stop. He reportedly had a notebook listing the names and addresses of multiple other sex offenders and their crimes, as well as that trusty hammer. News of his arrest spread rapidly throughout Alaska, then across the U.S., social media reactions were divided.

Some hailed him as a hero, targeting child predators. Others condemned him as a dangerous vigilante acting on impulse and trauma. Many noted that at least one of his victims had long since served their sentence. Others pointed out the fundamental danger of using registry data is a hit list, given its inconsist, and the wide range of offenses it includes, the debate reflected a bigger national conversation. What happens when the justice system fails someone so catastrophically, they begin to see violence as righteous correction? In 2018, Vukovic accepted a plea deal. He was convicted of first-degree assault, second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and other related

charges. Although he expressed remorse for his actions, he also insisted that he was trying to prevent others from suffering what he had endured. The court, while acknowledging his trauma, ultimately reviewed the attacks as premeditated vigilantism that could not be justified, and he was sentenced in part because of past offenses to 28 years in prison, with 10 suspended for a total of 18 years to serve, one of the harshest vigilante-related sentences in recent memory, longer sentence than any of the kid-diddling fucks he abused ever served. Recently, from prison, Vukovic has written letters urging others to not follow in his footsteps, stating that violence is not the answer, even against the guilty, which surprised me.

He emphasizes that trauma must be healed, not weaponized. Okay. Almost done now. Just two more examples. First, let's look at a pretty recent case of a citizen's arrest gone wrong. May 1st, 2023, 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a homeless black man. I remember when this is the news, killed in a chokehold by Daniel Penny on a New York City subway. Penny's a Marine veteran, 24-year-old student at the time of his arrest.

Jordan Elyle, a subway and street performer, known mainly for his Michael Jackson impersonations. Neely had had a difficult life when he was a teen, his mom was murdered by her boyfriend, her body stuffed into a damn suitcase, he was hospitalized for depression at the age of 14, later diagnosed with schizophrenia, experienced hallucinations and paranoia according to medical records. Also used the synthetic cannabinoid, K2, which seems to have sometimes sent him into a psychotic state. That drug was in his system at the time of his death. Neely was repeatedly hospitalized in the years leading up to his death, also had a criminal record that included assault convictions. uh once told a doctor that being homeless lived in poverty having a dig through garbage for food made him feel worthless and hopeless and he sometimes thought of taking his own life clearly dude is struggling

may 1st 2023 daniel peri uh penny excuse me left class a beard of the subway in manhattan to go to the gym he was on the same train neelie was witnesses said neelie was shouting about needing food and a drink before he whipped his jacket to the floor and started to scream uh said he didn't care if he died or went to jail Some witnesses told 9-1-1 operators that Neely tried to attack people or indicated he would harm subway riders. Several testified they were nervous or feared for their lives, but Neely was unarmed and didn't actually touch any of the other passengers on the train. Multiple riders actually said he didn't even approach anybody. One said he made lunging movements and she shielded her child from him.

Daniel Penny sees all this, decides he's had enough. He approaches Neely from behind, grabs him around his neck, takes him to the floor and to quote, put him out. his words to the police. Two other passengers initially helped Penny pin Neely to the ground, place him in a chokehold, and then he goes limp and loses consciousness. Another passenger's video showed that at one point nearly tapped an onlooker's leg like he's trying to tap out. Like, hey, I'm done. I'm done. Not resisting. He gestured to the onlooker, like he needs help. Another bystander can be heard in a video saying he's dying. Let him go. A witness who stepped in to hold down Neely's arms testified that he told Penny to free the man. Penny's

lawyers noted that the witness's story though changed over time. Penny told detectives that Neely threatened to kill people and he was trying to, quote, de-escalate the situation until police arrived. He held on to Dealey after the train to stop because he wasn't sure the doors were open and Neely periodically was squirming, he said. Penny said, I wasn't trying to injure him. I just kept trying to keep him from hurting anybody else. He's threatening people. That's what we learn in the Marine Corps. At his trial, a Marine Corps combat instructor would testify that Penny misused the chokehold technique he had been taught. Neely's death was declared a homicide caused by compression of the neck. Penny turned himself in May 11th,

2023, indicted on June 15th. He pled not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Opening statements in Penny's trial started November 1st, 2024. Prosecution and defense argued that Penny had the right to step in, but the prosecution argued he used too much force on Neely, who was unarmed. Penny held Neely in a chokehold for nearly six minutes. He could have released Neely after passenger stepped off the transit station once he was no longer a threat to others. Defense argued that Penny acted as save riders from threatening behavior. He held on to Neely until police arrived so he could be taken into custody. Defense also argued that Neely died from schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana use, and a sickle cell trait. December 6th, the judge dismissed

the first charge of manslaughter in the second degree. And on December 9th, Penny was controversially acquitted of criminally negligent homicide. Even though he didn't go to prison, is that a good example of vigilantism? No, it's not. Held a dude down for ways. too long. Didn't really know what he was doing as far as applying that chokehold. No one's life was actually in danger. Right? At the end of the day, the vigilante needlessly killed a mentally old man screaming on a subway. Now, does something more need to be done about people mentally or not? Threatening and terrifying people in public spaces? Yeah. But choking those people out? I don't know. Probably not the answer. Neither is shooting anyone causing problems like my

fucking dad says. Now for one more. From last year. More controversial. In early December of 2024, Manhattan became the stage for one of the most shocking vigilante killings in modern American history, one that really split the country, like ignited, furious online debate, forced people to confront just how angry and broken our health care system has made everyday Americans. The victim was Brian Thompson, CEO of United Health Care's Insurance Division, largest health insurance company in the U.S., a man who oversaw a corporation with hundreds of billions in yearly revenue, or he oversaw, you know, one aspect of this corporation,

The kind of person most Americans would never know by name until the night he was shot dead outside a midtown hotel. The alleged killer, a 26-year-old engineer and Ivy League graduate named Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who wrote the following letter, found when he was captured to explain his motivations. To the feds, I'll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I was not working with anyone. This was fairly trivial, some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggly notes and to-do list that illuminate the gist of it.

My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering, so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife or trauma, but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder, the U.S. has the number one most expensive health care system in the world, yet we rank roughly number 42 in life expectancy. United is one of the largest companies in the U.S. by market cap behind only Apple, Google, in Walmart. It has grown and grown, but has our life expectancy? No. The reality is these indecipherable have simply gotten too powerful and they continue to abuse our country for

immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space and frankly, I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed, e.g. Rosenthal Moore. He's talking about a journalist and a documentary in there. decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games are at play. Evidently, I'm the first to face it

with such brutal honesty. Before he killed Thompson, Mangione was a quiet guy with a promising future, no criminal record, an academic star, the valetorian of his elite Maryland prep school, the all-boys Gilman School, earned both undergrad and graduate degrees

in computer science in the University of Pennsylvania. He spent time surfing in Hawaii after college, may have stopped due to debilitating back pain. Back pain he may have felt was not being properly treated due to health insurance bullshit. Not that he couldn't have personally made sure to get the care he needed, he grew up in a wealthy family of Baltimore real estate developers. They own multiple country clubs, nursing homes, radio station, and more, like a lot of money.

Not the type you would picture when you think of a future vigilante. And yet, if you look at the reaction online, the days it followed, you might have thought the country had just witnessed the death of either a saint or a supervillain when he killed a health insurance CEO, depending on which point. of the internet, you wandered into. So what happened? Just after 9 p.m. Thompson was leaving a hotel where he'd been attending a healthcare investment conference, a gathering of executives, investors, analysts, and, you know, talking about profit projections. He walked outside, crossing over towards a car waiting for him, was shot multiple times at close range, then his killer vanished into

the New York night. Showcasing's found at the scene had the words deny, delay, and depose written on them. For five days after the attack, or excuse me, for five days, the attack, the attack horrified Manhattan and baffled investigators. And then the quiet young man from Maryland, Luigi Mangione, is arrested at McDonald's, of all places, and Al-Tuna, Pennsylvania, ending a multi-state manhunt. When officers searched him, they find a 3D printed gun,

a fake ID, a series of writings that prosecutors later described as ideologically motivated, a fixation on the American healthcare system, on medical debt, on the people who die, waiting for treatment or approval, and on the executives who benefit from massive salaries and bonuses, while many of their patients who are their customers needlessly suffer and or die.

In 2023, Brian Thompson made just over $10 million. His family confirmed he had had his life threatened numerous times before he was killed, largely, it seems, from people who are denied coverage. As soon as Mangione's name is the news, America's reaction to Thompson's killing, you know, pretty much split down the middle. To some, he's a monster, a domestic terrorist who murdered a man for nothing more than being wealthy and powerful, for working hard, climbing the corporate ladder, somebody who turned a deeply flawed system into an excuse for violence,

somebody who decided unilaterally that he had the right to end another human being's life. To others, he became something a lot more complicated. A vigilante, a hero, a David standing up to a Goliath, a rich kid who didn't need to stand up for the little guy, but did anyway. A guy willing to martyr himself to illustrate the corruption of a system millions of Americans believe has been killing them slowly for years, a man who targeted not random civilians, but the CEO of a corporation.

Many people blame for denying claims, delaying treatment, making life or death decisions based not on medical need, but on spreadsheets and fucking stock profits. Almost immediately after his arrest, social media lit up with debates. Some people condemned him entirely. Others argued right. He's a symbol of desperation,

the human embodiment of a rage at a system that forces families to choose between chemotherapy and bankruptcy. So fucked, memes appeared. Free Luigi billboards went up. Artist painted him as if he were a modern-day guy Fox. Polls, actual national polls, showed that young Americans, especially those under 30,

viewed him more favorably than unfavorably. And why? Because for many Americans, health care doesn't just feel broken. It feels predatory. Families who have watched loved ones die because they couldn't afford treatment that would have saved them. You know, felt a sick kind of catharsis, seeing somebody at the top of that system

being held accountable, even violently. They didn't view it as a tragic death. They saw it as an eye for an eye. And of course, right? A lot of that anger is emotional, not rational. CEO isn't personally deciding whether your MRI gets approved, corporate harm is systemic, not an individual, but emotions don't care about corporate structure.

And there is some logic there. The question this case raises is brutal, right? If someone's decision or their company's decision contributes to suffering and death, are they morally responsible? And if so, does that justify retaliation? Many of us would say no. Society only works. If we agree, violence is not the answer to structural flaws. But many Americans no longer trust that the system will handle it.

And when trust collapses, as we've learned, vigilante thinking creeps in. Do I believe that what Mangione was finding against is a just cause? Fuck, yeah, I do. Do I agree with the killing? I'm not sure. Unpopular opinion. I'm not sure. I don't know.

I go back and forth. America's health insurance racket, including Big Pharma, is fucking predatory. Wall Street profit is put ahead of saving lives. And no matter how many people complain, it just keeps getting worse. Right now, health premiums already unattainable for tens of millions of Americans are going to get more expensive. Millions more will have to choose between financials. ruin or fucking, you know, living. Millions more will live in pain that are, there are cures for, live with fatal diseases

that could be successfully treated. Healthcare companies will continue to put profit before people, no matter who gets elected. How do you combat that? I don't want to advocate for domestic terrorism, but also, if more CEOs got assassinated, would that help create change? Or would shit continue to be exactly the same? I don't know. With new CEOs, hire better personal security.

Would the average working class American just get fucked over just the same? Historically, when it comes to major societal change, bloody vigilantism on a major revolutionary scale is more effective than anything else. In my mind, revolutionaries are a type of vigilante, right? They go outside the legal order, not to just stop crime, but to completely overhaul the fucking system they live inside. Again, I'm not advocating for more CEOs to be assassinated. I'm just, I'm not saying Louisee shouldn't be punished,

but doesn't you have a point? Shouldn't people whose corporate decisions literally get people killed? Be held to some type of accountability? I mean, my dad says, quote, kill them all, let's fucking go. I don't know how much long I'm going to be able to hit sniper shots like I can right now, and I want to taste some fucking glory. Nothing is over.

Nothing. You just don't turn it off. But he is crazy. Let's zoom out. Look at all this a little bit more after the timeline. Good job, soldier. You've made it back. Barely.

Vigilantism, taking the law into your own hands. It can be done as an individual, it can be done as a group. Its primary goal in theory is to enforce safety and security, but that's not always achieved through vigilante justice. Vigilantism has existed forever, long before it ever had a definition. In some cases, the vigilante seeks justice for a family member who was harmed by another, as we saw in the case of Marianne Bachmeier, shot her daughter's killer in the middle of his trial.

In the case of Gary Plauchet, he shot the man who sexually abused and abducted his son, as soon as he touched ground in his home state. Court was in his favor. Plauchet never served prison time. The Pink Sari Gang receives widespread public support throughout India for their acts of vigilantism. Thousands of members help women experiencing domestic violence or financial and social injustice. But there are some instances where vigilante justice is fueled by hatred and ignorance, as in the case of racially motivated lynchings. Vigilante justice can also be politically motivated, as we saw during World War I, when those perceived as not shown enough support for the war effort faced brutal violence, humiliation, and threats for. from vigilante groups. Vigilantism is clearly a complex social issue.

On the surface, it may seem reasonable, even justifiable in some cases. Many people around the world support vigilante justice to some extent, in certain situations. There will always be individuals and groups who choose to enact vigilante justice. What I learn from all of this is that vigilantism is most effective and most ethical when a large group of people come together and agree that law enforcement is not protecting their community. And they form together, once they've exhausted all the legal channels, not to attack another community based on racism or xenophobia, but to defend one another from being preyed upon by nefarious forces, whether those be a drug cartel, corrupt cops, corrupt politicians, or business

people, predatory individuals, rapists, allowed to prey on them because they're marginalized in the lowest cast. The knight riders, I think that's a good example of it making sense to form a vigilante group. Didn't end well, but started well. Even better examples are, you know, both groups of women we covered in India and the people of chair in Mexico. No one was looking out for them. No one was helping them. They were being raped, exploited in other ways. Consistently, over a long period of time,

it was either rise up and fight or lay down and continue to be violated. Vigilantism, the best option. When it comes to the German mother, the American father killing their child's molester and or murderer, you know, not as clear cut. I get it emotionally. But rather than go after the peto, why not go after the system that keeps letting petos out of jail?

Why not try and stage mass protests? you know in front of lawmakers homes why not protest judges who consistently hand out light sentences show up in front of their fucking house not as emotionally satisfied but maybe more effective but what if you do that and the system still doesn't change what if your protest fall in deaf ears when does it actually start to make sense to think okay i tried it the nice way now i guess violence is the answer and maybe decide to go full luigi right that answer is going to be different for everybody the public's always going to be divided on this issue right what if luigi had not gotten caught what if he had assassinated uh 10 health care CEOs? Another 10 big pharmacy Eos. What if he had killed dozens of lobbyists who keep pressure on lawmakers to not regulate profits in the health care sector? What if he killed so many motherfuckers and created so much societal discourse that led to so much focus on our broken system, which then led to so much anger that then led to mass protests that then

turned into a massive movement that actually led to some form of good health care coverage for everyone? What if a new system led to things being the best they had ever been in America for working class families who could save for houses and education, retirement, vacation, live longer, more fulfilling lives instead of going bankrupt over fucking cancer. Would he then be seen primarily as a domestic terrorist, as a murderer, or as a type of real-life noble Robin Hood, who didn't steal from the rich to give to the poor, but killed some of the rich so the poor didn't have to steal? Right, it's interesting to think about, isn't it? I feel like I'm going to get some good emails

from this one. Probably some bad ones, too, but I look forward to them all. I don't have a lot of answers this week. I'm going to need to try and let this sink in for a while. Time for the takeaways. Time suck. Top five takeaways. Number one, a vigilante is your mom. No, it's a person who takes the law into their own hands, preventing, investigating, punishing offenses and crimes without legal authority to do so. As long as humans have existed, so has vigilantism, and the practice has received and continues to receive mixed acceptance around the world. Number two, the regulators of North Carolina, one of the only official vigilante movements of America's colonial period, backcountry farmers, angry over excessive taxes, fees, and government

corruption, so they took justice into their own hands by targeting local officials and staging protests. The regulator movement came to a head in 1771 with a skirmish between the government and regulator militia. While the movement lost momentum, soon afterwards, the spirit of vigilantism has remained in the U.S. Number three, as shown in cases like the lynching of Emmett Till, and the murder of Ahmaid Arbery, most vigilantism in the U.S. sadly has had racial roots. And people in marginalized communities are more likely to be victims of vigilante violence. That demonstrates the importance of just and fair law and order emanating from a just government. If that exists, vigilante justice is necessary.

Number four, vigilantism has been used in many parts of the world as a tool to help women get their sense of safety and security back. In India, the Pink Sari Gang or the Golabi gang has amassed thousands of members, women dressed and bright pink sorries help victims of domestic violence and administrative injustice, utilizing negotiation, public shaming, and sometimes a good old beat with a stick. These women work together to help women feel safe in their marriages and have access to government services they're entitled to. And number five, new info, the traffic safety vigilante. In 2006, over 20 motorists in the county of Hampshire, southeast England,

were victims of a vigilante who targeted drivers using cell phones. their tires were slashed In some cases A note would be left On their windshields The message would be Made out of newspaper cuttings Would say

Warning You have been seen While using your mobile phone Victim Rebecca Rendell Who had to pay 170 pounds To get new tires Told the BBC

I was shocked and furious I don't even own a mobile I think I think it must be Someone following me home That's the only way They would find out Where you live

There's a loony Who thinks they're doing The World of Favor I mean if she really doesn't have a phone Yeah They are loony The perpetrator's identity

Never made public If they were ever arrested at all. Time suck Top five takeaways Vigilante justice What could possibly go wrong? A lot has been sucked. Thank you to the Bad Magic Productions team

Helping making time suck Thanks again to Queen of Bad Magic Lindsay Cummins To Logan Keith Helping published this episode Design and merch for the store at badmagic productions.com Thanks to Olivia Lee

for her initial research thanks to the all seen eyes moderating the cold of the curious private Facebook page the mod squad making sure discord case running smooth and everybody on the time suck and bad magic subreddits and now time sucker updates updates get your time sucker updates start with something positive today incredible egghead sack olivia willms sending a wonderful message to bojangles at timesugpodcast.com with the subject line of Time Suck Cures Blindness. Dear Dan and the Time Suck crew,

my name is Olivia Williams. I'm a third-year genetics PhD student. I work in a salamander regeneration lab, where we study lens regeneration in Plurodellis waltol, trying to figure out how the only animal capable of regrowing the lens of their eye

throughout their lifespan does it so that we could one day induce regeneration in humans. The last Friday, or this last Friday, my very first research project got posted in BioRXIV, a repository for pre-print publications while they're under peer review. In this paper, I was able to identify all the genes that are expressed in newt-iris tissue across the lens regeneration process, essentially giving us a molecular blueprint of this process for the very first time.

Prior to this publication, very little was known about the genetic aspects of the process, with only few marker genes haven't been previously identified. Now we have lists of all the genes expressed throughout regeneration, how their expression levels change, and potentially what's changing them. As you can imagine, this project was an intense amount of work over the last two years of my life, and TimeSuck was there alongside me the whole time. I'm writing in today to tell the story of how you and your podcast are partially responsible for the success of this project. When I started this project, I was a first year of PhD student, not being paid nearly enough, enrolled in classes I did not enjoy. I was assigned to teach a class I knew nothing about. On top of all that, I was personally doing nearly four hours a day of animal care

rather than starting my research because of some disorganization on my lab's part, as it was my advisor's first year as well. I was stressed and miserable, to say the least. Stressed enough to start having panic attacks for the first time ever and stressed enough to get to the point where I considered dropping out of the PhD program entirely because I couldn't help but feel I'd made a mistake going back to school. I wanted to give up. However, there was one positive when I started having to clean salamander poop for nearly four hours a day.

During that time, I decided to start listening to TimeSuck after a recommendation from a friend. I fell in love with the podcast almost instantly. I was quickly getting through at least one episode a day. Fans Perspective on Life and his own personal recommendations for therapy inspired me to reach out to our campus' psychological and counseling services to start going to therapy myself. And the craziest thing happened. All those people who tell you therapy was truly helpful despite the stigmatisms you've heard, well, they're right. I started being able to see real improvements in my response to my anxiety, and I couldn't believe I had to. and gone sooner. I also learned that one of my personal biggest hurdles was simply asking for help

when I needed it. Throughout the rest of that semester, my therapist helped come up with ways for me to ask my advisor for better animal care systems, to ask my committee if I could take different courses, and to ask my department for a new teaching assignment. So by simply asking for help, I ultimately was able to get my animal care cut down to just three hours a week, just enough time to listen to the new episode of TimeSuck. I was able to enroll in courses that I found way more interesting, and I was able to teach a new class that I truly love for five semesters. By simply asking for help, I was able to change my whole environment so drastically that I wanted to stay. And because I stayed, I got to do the research that I love. I got to see what was once

just an idea that seemed so far away in a vast desert of newt poop turn into a real paper. A foundational paper for regenerative research that could one day cure some forms of blindness with limited to no treatments. And I truly don't think it would have been completed without your podcast. I think if I hadn't heard some of the inspiring messages that came from Dan and the people who write in each week, I would have never asked for help. Like they just would have dropped out out of school. This project may have never been completed, so I had to write in and say thank you. And on the off chances, does get read on the show. I want everyone in graduate school listening to know that if you're having a hard time, don't be afraid to reach out for help, especially with

how stressful the grad school environment is currently. I'd also like to give a shout out to my meet Zach, Zach, who has been a wonderful husband. I was extremely supportive during that time of my life as well. Thank you for spreading the message to me when I need it the most, Dan. You've helped me jump my biggest hurdle. Keep doing what you're doing. Three to five stars. Wouldn't change a thing. Yeah, correct pronunciation. As your own personal, Clifford, uh, for today. Plurodellies waltol. Olivia W. Fucking Olivia. I did it. That's what I heard. I did it. I did it. I did it. I did. I cured blindness. Me. Dan, I did. Fuck yeah, I did. By myself. I mean, maybe you helped a little bit, but mostly me, me, me. No one else. I'm the greatest scientist of my generation.

so I come, let's fucking go. Next message. JK. Can you imagine if that was my real reaction? That's why I took away from that. No, thank you, Olivia, and congrats. That's huge, truly. Oh, my God.

What an amazing contribution you're making. And once this cure is fleshed out, it's going to help so many people you'll never even meet. I think that's so cool, that butterfly effect. I always am fascinated by that. And you're doing better, you know, personally, because of therapy, that's so wonderful. I actually need to get in more myself again.

It is so helpful. So important because life is fucking complicated and just difficult, I would say most of the time. Even when it's good, difficult, complicated. It's such a strange thing, right? No matter how many lives have been lived before us, no matter how many others have faced the same problems, and we can read about them and all this stuff and watch these shows about them, but we still have to figure out so much for ourselves, right? Every journey is both incredibly common.

It's like paradoxical. Incredibly common, totally unique. Life is so strange. It really is. I get the stranger I think this whole thing is. This fucking weird matrix we're living in. Keep science in Olivia. The people who don't support you,

you know right now, ironically, the ones who need your expertise the most. They just don't know it. Keep being a positive agent of change. Inspire more young women to get into STEM. Nimrod demands it. And now more positivity, let's keep it going from kick-ass boss bitch,

Sac Amanda. Amanda sent in a message with the subject line of 10 years sober, now 11, update. Hello, Dan, the banana Don Juan. Oh, fuck yeah. the rest of the band Magic team You know what? You guys are lucky that I don't have that masturbation sound handy

Because I just had an impulse to If I had a button for that sound I would have pushed it right now But I know a lot of you hate it I wrote it exactly a year ago today It is again my daughter's birthday And I'm also another year sober This episode dropped

The Addiction episode yet On my sober versory Couldn't have come at a better time I'll try to keep it short And only hit the high notes On top of being an addict I also have bipolar disorder And of course I self-medicated

for that in the past It took years for me to admit that I needed help, not only for my addiction, but also for my bipolar disorder. Took years to find a doctor that would listen to me about how I was feeling. Most of my experiences with doctors have been your bipolar. You get this. Oh, it's not working well. Up your dose. Now I have an amazing doctor, an amazing doctor.

I've been with her for three years and has changed my life. All that being said, now that I have a clear mind and clean system, I can see how destructive my addiction and my bipolar has been in my life. In the past few months, I've been a bit depressed about that because my three, siblings are ridiculously successful. And I kept thinking I could have had that if it wasn't for these things. It really started making me feel like I had nothing. And then I'd accomplished nothing in my life. After listening to the episode, it reminded me that I am the person I am today because of those things, that I should only compare myself to my past self, not my siblings. I moved the goalpost. I've overcome so much and bettered myself in so many ways that Amanda

from 11 years ago would never have believed. Thanks for everything you do. I know you continue to inspire people. Love hearing about it in the updates. three out of five stars wouldn't change a thing different kind of success meet sack uh meet sack amanda amanda congrats you bring up such an important point so much a life is perspective it really is right like two people could be living the exact same lives like literally exactly some fucking hypothetical situation but different perspectives one of them is so happy and fulfilled the other one is fucking miserable we all need to really try and stop comparing ourselves to others in unhealthy ways and just look at her own journey i fight this shit all the time i'm so aware of it

and i still fight it i'll see somebody else i consider a peer whose career is you know i don't whatever farther along in some way fucking who cares and i'll feel bad about myself but then like like oh i fucking suck i made all these mistakes i suck but then i'll see some other peer that i don't know i think i'm farther along in some way doesn't make me feel better at all i don't care about that i only focus on the bad ones the bad comparisons and then i'll get mad at myself for caring at all for being petty and being small and jealous because I don't like those character traits for being too career focused

and I'll spiral in a different way. But when I just stop and think about my own journey, how I try to show up for my wife, my kids, how I've come a long way from where I was born, where I grew up, you know, I'm trying to be a good husband and father, trying to kick out the best episodes I can each week. I try to help people feel better about themselves,

learn more about life, and then I feel good. I'm still living the same exact life, but I just have changed my focus. It's not about other people's journeys. It's about our journeys, right? We all have so many different talents and limitations and advantages and obstacles. And it's, you know, it is kind of crazy to compare. So just try your best.

Work hard, play hard, love hard, relax and recover hard. Fucking love yourself, right? Don't treat yourself in a way that'll make you mad if you saw somebody else you love being treated that way. And that's it. That's all my old man advice for this one. Try to be content, you know, as often as you can. Try to find moments of joy as many as you can before the curtain's close. And that message made me want to share this next message.

Charlie last name redacted shares a similar sentiment and I think he needs to hear awesome Amanda's sentiment sent in a message with the subject line of Addiction made my sister a doctor and me a loser Dear Master Sucker on High I just listened to the addiction suck I'm a recovering alcoholic, I've been sober six and a half years I've always heard addiction as generic

My father's been sober for years as well He was more of a binge drinker than an alcoholic But there's several alcoholics in my family My sister however was always successful Didn't seem to suffer from addictions like I do when I was getting clean in the program the first time, I wonder why I had an addiction, like addiction issues, and my sister didn't.

Then I realized she was a straight-A student, has a doctorate, is a marathon runner, studied hours every day, has to run several miles a day, was running at eight months pregnant, those are addictions. They're just healthier and less harmful than mind-altering substances.

I can go to breweries and even keep wine in the house now for cooking without any temptations. However, I'm still addicted to several things. During some depressive months, I spent $200 on day, fairy queen blizzards i've struggled with oh they're so good i've struggled with porn also can be pretty good shopping caffeine video games oh yeah a lot of good stuff so many things online shopping is hard

right now i definitely understand it far is it is far more than substances you can be addicted to my addictions are just more harmful than my sisters who used her addictions to become a scientist slash marathon runner and i became a chubby broke masturbator all jokes aside i spend a lot of time in therapy, focused on my addictions. I lost a lot of weight, saved a lot of money. Some months are better than others, but I just got to refocus and target those addictions. I'm not a doctor, but I've done pretty well for myself despite my struggles. Love the podcast, love this topic. Three out of five stars wouldn't change a thing. I love when you deep dive into concepts and thoughts and your quest to better understand the world. Please leave my last name out just in case.

Love you, man. Charlie, fucking love you too. Good on you, man. For working on shit in therapy. Understanding that addiction takes a lot of forms and that you're not in a race against your sister you know you only got one life your happiness is not tied to hers unless you let it be easier said than done i know but it's true i've had to work very hard not competing with my ex-wife who's a CEO i would get so worried especially several years ago that you know she was just going to become more and more successful my fucking career's going to tank and the kids would never want to be over my house they would only want to be at their mom's house they would only want to spend time at a bigger better cooler place and that was the wrong thing to worry about the whole time i should have

never worried about that. I should have worried about just, you know, am I loving my kids the right way? Am I showing up for them in the right way? Spending quality time with them, being a good dude. That's way more important than stuff, right? And even if they did choose their stuff over mine, well, that doesn't have to break me either. I can still feel good about myself. I don't need anyone around me to believe I'm a good human, to be a good human. Again, it is so important to give yourself grace to accept that your ride does need to look like anybody else is. The career benchmarks don't equate to, you know, value doesn't cost anything to be positive force in the world for yourself and also being a chubby

masturbator doesn't sound that terrible i mean food's fucking great also jerking off's great who doesn't like to jerk off feels so fucking nice no one's gonna know that dick like you know that dick right right charlie right you know just how to stroke it so treat yourself uh just maybe not more than like a few times a day what does that treat yourself fucking quote come from is that like a movie anyway uh treat jerking off like enjoying little chocolate candies right it's okay to have a few each day you just probably shouldn't have like a dozen or something like that i'm gonna stop now before i say something stupid stupid next time suckers i needed that we all did i should have said stop before i say something else stupid say plenty stupid things uh thanks for

listen to another bad magic productions podcast happy holidays you beautiful bastards you lovely empathetic curious silly fucks uh be sure and rate and review time suck if you have already or I'll have my fucking dad kill you. Maybe don't become a vigilante this week. This work? Don't do it this week or this work. At least look into other options first. But if you do become a vigilante, get yourself a costume

and a cool name. Like the vengeance viper. The chubby baiter. Those are pretty good, right? And keep on sucking. Mad Magic Productions Now how about just a little bit of David Hasselhoff? Why? Because I want it. Because while looking for night writer videos, I came across something magnificent

I'd never seen before, a song called True Survivor from 2015's Kung Fury Original Motion Picture soundtrack, and you need to hear it. And it kind of feels like it could be a vigilante's theme song. A devil is rising. A shadow from the past. Feeding the past. Flames the fire on the edge of fury.

Fuck yeah! Out of time. Running in and out of time. So much time. You're ticking on the countdown clocks tonight. Never mind, not enough time. If we need to make it like a true survivor. Yeah.

Because it is over! We need to act shine. You just don't turn it off. away from here we need a living question to believe in burning home