“Rodriguez (pro-Obama) told police that he wasn’t interested in discussing politics and told Williams (anti-obama), “People like you should be shot,” according to police.”
So Rodriquez admitted to police he said that before the scuffle. Then the scuffle, and perhaps it looked like he was reaching for a weapon and Williams pulled his gun. Seems a case of “rather be tried by 12 than shot”.
Of course this situation is far different than an intruder in one’s home, but here in Washington state, the presence of an intruder in your home is enough to shoot him.
Interesting details. And that’s why we have juries. If they could be convinced Rodriguez was making a serious, credible death threat, that improves Williams’ self defense posture. But there would be plenty the prosecutor could do to dismantle that theory. Generalized threat language, put off to the future, is common in heated arguments, and shouldn’t automatically imply a real and immediate lethal threat. Furthermore, unlike Zimmerman, the scuffle has produced no vivid images of serious bodily harm. The jury would have to have a lot more than we are getting from the reporting to know how potentially deadly this scuffle actually was. Given the current public record, Williams is still at a disadvantage with respect to proportionate force.
I also meant to say I agree with you on home invasion. Most jurisdictions grant a presumption that if someone has illegally broken into your home, they automatically present a potentially lethal threat, and you may deal with them accordingly.