Respectfully (literally), what you don't seem to get is the main point--that vigilantism is BAD. (Remember, some posts ago?). Mob rule is BAD. Anarchy is BAD. Chaos is BAD. Having a bunch of vigilantes lynching Muslim Americans is BAD.
If there is to be any punishment, then that is the reserve of the [freely elected] government [by the people]. To give the American people unrestrained free rule is insane. People do not have the right, nor should they, to take the law into their own hands.
So, you could type that the American people relinquished power to the government and imposed restraints on themselves to limit themselves.
If those semantics work for you, then smart decision by the American people.