To the Editor: In the cases against both Kyle Rittenhouse and Travis McMichael (and others), what is really on trial is depraved and hateful vigilantism.
Laws can allow a private citizen to use physical force against a suspect if he has a reasonable belief that the suspect committed a crime, and the suspect did commit the crime of which he is suspected. But if these requirements are met, the private citizen is permitted to use physical force, but not deadly physical force—which can be deployed only if the private citizen has a reasonable fear of deadly physical force being used against himself or another person.
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