Be wary of paramilitaries
On Tyranny, chapter 6
A government does its best to hold a monopoly on violence and use the law to ensure it is used carefully. Doing so helps enforce the political forms we take for granted.
Private security details and other agencies beyond the control of law that can employ force are a threat to the safety of the people. If they are brought into politics they can be used to undermine democracy. This includes spontaneous groups of citizens working on behalf of politicians, like the right-wing extremists who carried out the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Armed groups degrade a political order, then transform the atmosphere, then the political system. They challenge the police and military, penetrate them, then transform them.