Civic duty? Or vigilantism?

This weekend, in Idaho (of all places), a serious and tragic situation unfolded.

This posting from Spec Ops magazine explains what went down:

Unfortunately, three people still died (not counting their suicidal killer) and seven were wounded. As one commenter pointed out, in Idaho, it would not be surprising to find that half the people in the parking lot and drive-through were carrying.(The Washington Standard reports that more than 60 of every 100 residents of the State own at least one firearm.)

But two of those people actually responded. And stopped the shooting and the killing, driving the murderer away from his evil action. One of those men is in the above photo.

Another commenter explained a bit about this person, not identified by the Spec Ops posting. His name is Jordan Salinas. Although the Sheriff, local police and authorities have praised him for his prompt, life-saving actions, it appears that mainstream media and various police-lovers don’t want to mention him. Instead, they write only of the off-duty Idaho State Police trooper.

After all, they don’t want to give people the idea that ordinary people (without badges, official standing, and all the rest) can deal with unexpected attacks by apparently-deranged people.

We are told that years ago, after some well-publicized attacks like this, Mr. Salinas decided he needed to be armed and trained to respond if he was ever in a similar situation. He studied and bought a good weapon (reported to be a Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol, seen in the photo), and then trained himself to be prepared, spending hours learning to shoot – apparently actually teaching himself. We understand that one thing he taught himself is the OODA Loop, developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd in the 1970s.

TPOL has long recommended and explained the value of this decision-making technique, and use it ourselves. Media claims that Mr. Salinas “acted instinctively” and ran towards the threat. Like so much else in mainstream media, this is wrong. There was nothing “instinctive” about Mr. Salinas’ actions. He trained and trained, and he used what he taught himself and applied it.

Just as anyone that has a single ounce of civic duty should. Civic duty is far more than going out and informing yourself and voting wisely, well-beyond “being a good citizen” and paying your taxes and driving at the posted speed limit.

One key civic duty is to be able, prepared, and above all, willing, to defend yourselves, your family and friends, your community, and even your enemies.

Of course, we already hear some of the usual claims. We still don’t know why this suicidal killer did these horrific things. (And we may never.) But the attacks on Idaho for its “lax” gun laws started immediately. And of course, Mr. Salinas is being attacked as a “vigilante” who “took the law into his own hands.” It is claimed that he acted as judge, jury, and executioner (even if he didn’t really kill the murderer, just confronted, disrupted, and drove him away).

We know this is ridiculous, but many poorly informed people will accept these claims, these attacks on a valued member of society, as legitimate. We must teach people the truth.

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Source: https://freedombunker.com/2026/08/03/civic-duty-or-vigilantism/