# Vigilante Groups

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vigilante-groups/455282>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vigilante-groups/455282 "2008-07-04T10:07:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![eddiestafford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/779978/32.png) [@eddiestafford](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eddiestafford)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vigilante-groups/455282/1 "2008-07-04T10:07:17Z")

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In the US and UK do vigilante groups exist that are considered dangerous?

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vigilante-groups/455282/2 "2008-07-04T19:01:50Z")

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> **[Guardian Angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Angels)**
>
> The Guardian Angels is a non-profit international volunteer organization with the goal of unarmed crime prevention. The Guardian Angels organization was founded on February 13, 1979, in New York City by Curtis Sliwa. It later spread to over 130 cities and 13 countries worldwide.
> Sliwa originally created the organization to combat widespread violence and crime on the New York City Subway system. The organization originally trained members to make citizen's arrests for violent crimes. The organiza...

Whether or not they’re vigilantes depends upon whom you ask.

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**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vigilante-groups/455282/3 "2008-07-04T21:34:48Z")

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[QUOTE=HeyHomie]

> **[Guardian Angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Angels)**
>
> The Guardian Angels is an American nonprofit volunteer organization with the goal of unarmed crime prevention. The organization was founded by Curtis Sliwa in New York City on February 14, 1979.
> Sliwa originally created the Guardian Angels to combat violence and crime on the New York City Subway. The organization originally trained members to make citizen's arrests for violent crimes. Members patrolled streets and neighborhoods without involving the police or any external authority, and they ...

[/QUOTE]

Most people don’t consider the Guardian Angels to be dangerous.

Some people believe [The Minutemen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Minuteman_Project_Inc.) are dangerous vigilantes. While I don’t like the organization, I don’t know that I would consider them dangerous.