Monday, September 07, 2020

Should Motorists Run Over Anarchists at Impromptu Roadblocks?

From American Thinker.com (Aug. 10):

Anarchists' widespread use of roadblocks to attack motorists requires citizens, and especially potential jurors, to understand the full implications of these incidents.  This is especially true given the propensity of some district attorneys and prosecutors to, as I see it, virtue-signal by filing charges against the motorists rather than the potential carjackers and highway robbers.  A "hasty roadblock" as deployed frequently by anarchists can often be construed as prima facie evidence of violent intent, and, as motorists cannot read the anarchists' minds, they must act on the situation as they find it.

Another example of this principle is "suicide by cop" that involves pointing unloaded guns (see page 185) at police officers.  The shootings are nonetheless justified because the only thing that counts is what the cop knows when he has to decide whether to shoot, and he knows only that he is looking down the muzzle of a firearm.  There are rare exceptions in which the responding officer has reason to believe that a subject is suicidal and does not have a loaded weapon, but these are exceptions and not the rule.  This is something people need to understand before they are called for jury duty, because it is unlikely that a virtue-signaling prosecutor will allow them to learn about it once they are selected.  A dishonest prosecutor will try to second-guess the defendant by bringing in evidence that was discovered after the fact — e.g., the gun wasn't loaded or the rioters intended only to obstruct traffic without harming anybody.  "Reasonable" depends on what you know at the time, not what you or anybody else discovers afterward.

"Hasty Roadblock" = "Ambush"

The United States Army makes it emphatically clear that a roadblock can be a prelude to an immediate and violent attack on approaching vehicles and their occupants.  "An example of a hasty roadblock is a tree wrapped with enough charges to fell it across an approach route when the enemy comes within the ambush area."  Here is a fictional example from Sharpe's Honour starring Sean Bean.

There are videos of anarchists using "hasty roadblocks" to stop vehicles, which, at least as I see it, puts their drivers in reasonable fear for their safety.  This does not entitle drivers to take the law into their own hands by running over anarchists who are not trying to prevent them from escaping, or even those who have desisted from whatever violent acts they were committing but a moment ago.  In addition, motorists should try to retreat from a mob of anarchists if this can be done in complete safety, regardless of whether the state has a "stand your ground" law. As Kenny Rogers put it in "Coward of the County," "Walk [or drive] away from trouble if you can." [read more]

Probably should honk your horn first to give warning.

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