They ARE vigilantes. They are a self-appointed Vigilance Committee. Such committees are the origin of the use of vigilante in its English form.
The word vigilante is Spanish for watchman or guard. Mirriam-Websters defines the broad English meaning of vigilante as "a self-appointed doer of justice."
"-- They are a self-appointed Vigilance Committee. Such committees are the origin of the use of vigilante in its English form. --"
Yes, I am aware of that meaning. However, you and I and everyone else understood from the context that it was meant in a pejorative sense. The implication of lawlessness and racism was clear, and any positive connotation was completely absent.