The armed vigilantes standing up to the looters: How residents armed with AR-15s and wearing bullet proof vests are taking matters into their own hands to defend businesses and stop widespread vandalism
Heavily armed vigilantes wielding everything from bats to rifles have started appearing at protests in Philadelphia, Idaho, California and Chicago
The local residents are threatening to take action if things turn violent in the absence of law enforcement
Most vigilantes want peace and are focused on protecting local residents and businesses from looters but others have been violent toward peaceful protesters
In Minneapolis, armed neighborhood watch groups are standing guard on rooftops to protect small businesses and homes from looters as night falls
In Idaho, retired cops have vowed to 'protect our neighborhoods' amid fears of Antifa groups arriving from out of state to destroy local towns
Cops are under investigation in Philadelphia after 'high-fiving' white men armed with bats who rip up BLM posters and threaten peaceful demonstrators
A California man pointed his gun at a crowd of protesters marching in the street
In Chicago, a white man in full tactical gear defied the 'open carry' laws in Illinois to turn up to a protest with an AR-15 style rifle
By Rachel Sharp For Dailymail.com
Published: 17:56 EDT, 4 June 2020 | Updated: 18:58 EDT, 4 June 2020
Residents armed with AR-15s and wearing bullet proof vests are taking matters into their own hands across America, coming out in force to defend businesses and stop widespread vandalism by looters.
Heavily armed vigilantes wielding everything from bats to rifles have started appearing at protests in places including Philadelphia, Idaho, California and Chicago, threatening to take action if things turn violent in the absence of law enforcement.
In Minneapolis, neighborhood watch groups are springing up - in support of protests over George Floyd's death but in defense of businesses and homes being destroyed by looters as night falls.
In many cases, the vigilantes want peace and are focused on protecting local residents and businesses from looters.
But, in some cases, their involvement has ended in violence toward peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8389515/How-residents-armed-AR-15s-wearing-bullet-proof-vests-defending-businesses.html