Vigilantism

The woman accused of shooting up a home for registered sex offenders in Fresno, California on August 30th was in court on yesterday. Jennifer Cedano faces four felony charges, including assault with a semi-automatic firearm. She opened fire in the home hitting one man. Within a month of that incident, in Freemont, California, Varun Suresh stabbed and killed a 71

Over the weekend, news emerged that Ian Watkins — former lead singer of the Welsh band Lostprophets, convicted in 2013 of heinous sexual offenses — was murdered in an English prison. His death has been widely reported, often with an undertone of satisfaction or even celebration. But this story is not about Watkins. It’s about a much larger, deeply disturbing

An Ohio resident is unhappy that his neighbor is a registrant, so he has posted a banner on his property and pointing to the neighbor’s house, asking travelers down the street to honk and telling his neighbor to move. This type of vigilantism is not just a nuisance, but it invites the public to harass the registrant by honking at

A video captured a startling scene in Trumann, Arkansas: a woman, identified as Tracy Washburn, was seen approaching two children — a five-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy — and attempting to persuade them to go to the home of a registered sex offender. According to the children’s mother, Washburn told them the man was “a nice guy,” claimed “he

A man accused in a deadly Fremont stabbing last week allegedly admitted to police that he was targeting registered sex offenders as potential victims. Varun Suresh, 29, of Fremont, has been charged with murder in connection to the stabbing death of a 71-year-old man that occurred Thursday. “Evidence at the scene indicated a violent struggle,” Fremont PD said. “The victim

The Jacksonville Police Department is speaking out against the practice of “Predator Poaching” on their Facebook account. “We want to be clear: Vigilante investigations are dangerous. They can spread false information, compromise evidence and put victims or bystanders at greater risk,” they wrote. “Predator poaching” on social media usually refers to private citizens or online groups posing as minors, luring