How to Use citizen's arrest in a Sentence

citizen's arrest

noun
  • Dunikoski says the defendants had no right to make a citizen's arrest.
    — CBS News, 27 Nov. 2021
  • The case has caused nationwide pain and outrage, and raised questions about the scope of citizen's arrest laws.
    — Aj Willingham, CNN, 22 May 2020
  • The men claimed to be conducting a citizen's arrest of Arbery.
    — Melissa Mahtani, CNN, 5 Nov. 2021
  • Other citizen's arrest laws specify whether the law can be used for felony or misdemeanor crimes.
    — Aj Willingham, CNN, 12 May 2020
  • Can armed White men in a pickup rely on a 'citizen's arrest' claim to kill an unarmed Black jogger?
    — Zachary B. Wolf, CNN, 18 Nov. 2021
  • The bill would eliminate the right for civilians to perform citizen's arrest with some exceptions.
    — Nyamekye Daniel, Washington Examiner, 17 Feb. 2021
  • The killing played a critical role in Georgia's push to pass a hate crime bill into law and the overhaul of the state's citizen's arrest law.
    — Christina Maxouris, CNN, 6 Mar. 2022
  • O'Malley said in the release that citizen's arrests are legal, but dangerous.
    — Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com, 14 Sep. 2017
  • Georgia's citizen's arrest law was repealed earlier this year.
    — Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2021
  • Georgia's citizen's arrest law, which was passed during the Civil War, was repealed earlier this year.
    — Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 15 Nov. 2021
  • Wisconsin has no specific laws relating to a citizen's arrest.
    — Kelli Arseneau, Journal Sentinel, 12 Oct. 2022
  • The defense strategy depends on Georgia's citizen's arrest and self-defense laws.
    — Kate Brumback, ajc, 14 Nov. 2021
  • Defense attorneys had said their clients suspected Arbery was a burglar and were trying to make a citizen's arrest, which was legal at the time.
    — NBC News, 2 Dec. 2021
  • Months after his murder, Georgia lawmakers repealed the state's citizen's arrest law.
    — Leondra Head, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • This morning the trucker convoy entrapped a tesla driver, supposedly to make a citizen's arrest.
    — Curbed, 22 Mar. 2022
  • The prosecution said the men had no knowledge of any crimes committed by Arbery and had no intention of making a citizen's arrest.
    — Raisa Habersham, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2021
  • The citizen's arrest law was approved in 1863 to round up escaped slaves and was later used to justify the lynching of Black people.
    — Kate Brumback, ajc, 14 Nov. 2021
  • The defense had sought to convince the jury that the McMichaels and Bryan were trying to execute a citizen's arrest, which was legal at the time in the state.
    — NBC News, 7 Jan. 2022
  • Defense attorneys said Arbery lashed out violently with his fists to resist a lawful citizen's arrest by the defendants, who are white.
    — The Associated. Press, Arkansas Online, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Then, there are Georgia's specific citizen's arrest laws, which Aveni says are particularly loose.
    — Aj Willingham, CNN, 10 Nov. 2021
  • Kemp also signed a repeal of the state's citizen's arrest law, which allowed private citizens to detain someone suspected of committing a felony in their presence.
    — Raisa Habersham, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2021
  • Two of the men -- Gregory and Travis McMichael -- claimed to be conducting a citizen's arrest and acting in self-defense.
    — Deanna Hackney, CNN, 7 May 2021
  • The defendants argued self-defense, as well as acting within their rights under Georgia's citizen's arrest law, which was legal at the time but later changed in the wake of the shooting.
    — NBC News, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Defense attorneys say the McMichaels, suspecting Arbery of burglary, tried to conduct a citizen's arrest.
    — CNN, 22 Nov. 2021
  • One woman who was unhappy with DeWine’s handling of the health crisis apparently plotted to conduct a citizen's arrest of the governor.
    — Anne Saker, The Enquirer, 11 Nov. 2020
  • Prosecutors argued the pursuers acted on rumors and had no immediate knowledge Arbery had committed a crime, which is required to claim a citizen's arrest.
    — Pamela Kirkland, CNN, 16 Feb. 2022
  • The state's Civil War-era citizen's arrest law was originally enacted to enable Georgians to capture fugitive slaves.
    — Morgan Rimmer, CNN, 9 Mar. 2021
  • Fox's lawyer argued that the citizen's arrest comment showed that Fox wasn't really up for kidnapping the government, but instead suggested an alternative.
    — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2022
  • Several Democratic lawmakers joined protesters and called for Georgia to pass reforms including the repeal of the state's citizen's arrest and stand-your-ground laws.
    — Russ Bynum, Anchorage Daily News, 16 June 2020
  • The defense attorneys contend Arbery was mistakenly identified as a suspect in local burglaries, and was killed while trying to escape from the three men during a citizen's arrest.
    — Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 15 Nov. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'citizen's arrest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: