Legally armed citizens in Hartford, Conn., recently started a “Self-Defense Brigade” to oppose violent crime in their neighborhoods.
Volunteers — regular folks like you and me — now patrol the streets wearing body cameras and carrying pistols, even using drones to help keep an eye on things.
“The Democratic machine in Hartford is either unwilling or unable, incapable of doing it,” Cornell Lewis, the group’s founder, told Fox News. “So, we want the people to understand … Self-defense is not a dirty word.”
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, a Democrat, has — no surprise — denounced the group.
It seems Arulampalam would prefer that the people in his town sit on their hands and remain victims.
There have been a lot of victims lately.
The Westchester social worker savagely beaten during a home visit who eventually died from his injuries.
The man slashed in the neck with a knife by a stranger near Lafayette Square.
The 55-year-old woman stabbed from behind in an unprovoked attack near Central Park.
And these were all in the past few weeks — just in the New York City area.
In early May, a man was arrested for punching and kicking a young woman on a Q train at the Stillwell Avenue station. He was — no surprise in New York or many other cities these days — back on the streets the next day, thanks to lax bail laws.
Three weeks later, this same man pulled a knife on an MTA worker.
You could fill hundreds of pages with such stories from across the country — innocent people suffering from brutal, violent crime.
Two years ago, my own baby brother was one of those innocent victims.
It still seems to me like that terrible phone call, and that nightmare, happened just yesterday.
Christian was murdered as a bystander to a drive-by shooting on the streets of our hometown, Chicago.
He was 18 and excited about starting college.
But on that horrific day, he became just one of the nearly 25,000 people murdered across the United States in 2022.
Of every age. Every race. Every income bracket.
Is there any surprise or shock — let alone guilt — from those in power who allow such suffering to thrive?
In cities across the US, George Soros-backed prosecutors like Alvin Bragg in Manhattan, Kim Foxx in Chicago, George Gascón in Los Angeles and dozens of others have implemented policies that allow law-breaking and violent crime to flourish.
Soros has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to influence elections at every level, in every corner of the country.
His goal, it seems, is to reshape our country by targeting and weakening our judicial system.
His support of more than 75 prosecutors who’ve prioritized prosecuting police officers over criminals has led to increased crime rates and instability in many cities.
We, as a country, are at a crossroads.
Violence and lawlessness are rampant — and they need to stop.
Some people, like the brave citizens in Hartford and others, are fighting back and doing something about it.
But it’s an uphill battle, and more must be done.
In my innocent brother’s memory, I’ve assembled my own team of “vigilantes” and created a group called the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.
This new organization is dedicated to combating crime and violence across the United States.
By fostering safer communities through innovative strategies, forming robust community partnerships and combating soft-on-crime prosecutors and legislation, we will stop the enablers of violent crime in their tracks and pursue evidence-based policies that are proven to work.
The institute’s team already includes a range of expertise, including former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, physician and TV host Dr. Drew Pinsky, Denver police official Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. and many other professionals who have dedicated their lives to making a difference.
We’re bringing together a coalition of policymakers, health professionals, law enforcement, community leaders and social service organizations to address the root causes of crime and violence.
We are also providing services for victims — including counseling, legal assistance and emergency support.
I invite other organizations, businesses and individuals to join our movement for safer communities.
Until we stop the ongoing push of nefarious actors like Soros and other soft-on-crime officials and mouthpieces, we’ll continue to see more unnecessary victims.
It’s been two years since my brother’s murder, and I continue to press for justice — for Christian, and now for the thousands of people whose names are never truly shared, those families and communities whose cries are never televised or heard.
Christian’s death was senseless, but it doesn’t have to be meaningless.
Inactivity and apathy are not a choice here: Active forces in our nation are aggressively working against our police and judicial systems.
The millions of us who still care about safety and justice must take a stand against this evil.
Gianno Caldwell is a Fox News analyst.
