[therut]

Vigilantes are persons who illegally take the law into their own hands. They become judge, jury and executioner. These people are not breaking the law. They are being good citizens by watching for crime and reporting it to the appropriate authorities like we all do. They are a nation wide citizen watch group. Big difference.

[carton253]

well according to Cambridge Online dictionary:

Definition

vigilante

noun [C]

a person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime, or to catch and punish someone who has committed a crime, especially because they do not think that official organizations, such as the police, are controlling crime effectively. Vigilantes usually join together to form groups.

Just because I happen to agree that they fulfill the definition doesn't mean that I don't approve. Heck, if I lived on the border and the Minutemen were patrolling my property, I would give them sandwiches and coffee.