Vigilante Nation: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy by Jon Michaels and David Noll is a chilling and deeply researched examination of the ways in which state power can be used to enable and perpetuate acts of terror, both domestic and international. The authors argue that the line between state-sponsored security and violent vigilantism has become increasingly blurred, particularly in recent decades, as government-sanctioned violence has been employed in the name of national security, law enforcement, and the maintenance of social order.

Michaels and Noll examine how institutions, laws, and policies have facilitated the rise of state-backed groups and individuals who act with impunity, often bypassing legal constraints and accountability. They explore the consequences of this phenomenon, from the erosion of civil liberties to the deepening political and social divides that threaten democratic institutions.

The book draws on case studies, legal frameworks, and historical examples to illustrate how these forms of state-sanctioned violence have operated in various contexts, including the military, law enforcement, and private sector. Michaels and Noll effectively demonstrate that these actions are not isolated incidents but rather part of a disturbing pattern that undermines the very principles of democracy.

Vigilante Nation is an urgent and thought-provoking read that sheds light on the intersection of state power and violence. The authors not only illuminate the dangers of unchecked governmental authority but also offer a sobering warning about the long-term consequences of allowing this kind of vigilantism to flourish. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of democracy and civil rights in an era where the lines between justice and terror are increasingly difficult to distinguish.

This is a good, inclusive history of how republican terror is actually built into American history. State-sponsored terrorism has been allowed and even endorsed since the beginning of America before it was even a country. Strategic disenfranchisement is nothing new to America or its people, i.e. Indigenous peoples, immigrants, people of color, etc. This book gives a thorough explanation of that terrorism from the beginning, and most helpfully gives guidelines on how to beat and avoid state-sponsored terrorism aka vigilantism in the future. This is a great read for anyone who is trying to understand modern American culture by looking at the past.

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my new blog, <a href="https://www.mrbooksbookreviews.com">Mr. Book's Book Reviews.</a>

Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished Vigilante Nation: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy, by Jon Michaels and David Noll.

The authors defined vigilante democracy as the Republican’s “breathless rhetoric their authoritarian ambitions, their brazen recruitment strategies, the radical initiatives they’ve launched, and the canny ways these operatives have managed to secure legal cover for their campaigns of political domination and terror.”

An important part of that strategy is the vigilante part—getting private citizens, their supporters to do the dirty work. That’s done by dissenter vigilantism (enabling the views of the minority to prevail over the majority), courthouse vigilantism (filing the lawsuits for the radical right-wing federal judges to issue their rulings), street vigilantism (deterring and disrupting legitimate political rallies and protests) and electoral vigilantism (assault on elections by threatening voter, abdicates, voter registrants and election officials).

The authors successfully show that we have always had a history of private vigilantism, in support of political agendas, dating back to the founding of the country. Some examples are slavery, the efforts to defeat Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the long history of the suppression of the right to vote.

The book does an excellent job of showing how this strategy has been playing out and how each aspect of the strategy is helping them try to achieve their goal of the destruction of our political system and the installation of one-party totalitarian rule.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 28, 2024. Due to the publisher’s request, I am not posting this review until a week before its October 8 release date.