David Noll is a law professor at Rutgers. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, the New York Law Journal, and numerous other publications.
He clerked for Judges Pierre N. Leval and Raymond J. Lohier Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as Judge Richard J. Holwell of the Southern District of New York.
He joins us to discuss his new book, VIGILANTE NATION, which he co-wrote with Jon Michaels: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Democracy.
We discuss the history of vigilantism in the country and how we can expect the second Trump administration, with the help of the Christian right, to continue to normalize and legalize vigilante activities in order to serve and enforce this new militant, MAGA, political moment that has emerged following the election.
“All of these vigilantism-supporting laws are being quietly enacted in states such as Texas, Tennessee, and Florida.
And when you look at all of these laws, they send a very clear message that the MAGA movement wants foot soldiers on the ground in our communities, surveilling people, snitching on them, and enforcing the MAGA agenda,” Noll told the Bucks County Beacon.