How to Perform a Citizen's Arrest of A Bush Administration
Official

Nathan Robinson, HuffPost
The news that 4
people had been arrested in Iowa while trying to perform a citizen's arrest
on Karl Rove got me wondering: Can we arrest Bush administration officials
ourselves? So I slogged through a slew of state statutes, and as it turns out,
the answer is yes. But only if you live in certain particular states.
Citizen's arrests have a long, rich tradition dating back hundreds of years.
Because the power of ordinary people to help law enforcement execute its duties
is important, nearly every state has some sort of statute on the books
permitting citizen detentions of suspected criminals.
However, while most states allow citizen's arrests, the majority require the
presence of the citizen performing the arrest during the crime. A number of
states have more flexible language in their laws, though. The California
Penal Code, for example says the following:

837. A private person may arrest another:
1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.
2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not
in his presence.
3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for
believing the person arrested to have committed it.

Alabama and Kentucky have similar wordings. Montana phrases things
thusly:

A private person may arrest another when there is probable
cause to believe that the person is committing or has committed an offense and
the existing circumstances require the person's immediate arrest.
The dispute here will likely arise over the definition of the words
"require the person's immediate arrest." I'd argue that if anyone
needed to be immediately arrested, it's Karl Rove, but a Montana judge might disagree. And one of the
main downsides to citizen's arrests is that if you're in the wrong, you have
almost no legal protection (and depending on state law, may have committed a
crime tantamount to kidnapping).
Don't let that deter you, though! If there are reasonable grounds to suspect
a felony has been committed by the person arrested, then a citizen's arrest is
perfectly legally justified. Just don't go and arrest the man behind the
counter at the sandwich shop who gave you the wrong change.
What the four Iowans did is courageous, and is exactly how we should use the
citizen arrest power. A citizen's arrest is a peaceful, lawful, old-fashioned,
and charmingly Midwestern way to hold government criminals accountable. I
suggest that we start a nationwide movement. We will turn any suspected
government criminals over to the police. Just wait until a Bush administration
official shows up in your town.
Figure out whether they can reasonably be considered guilty of a felony. Check
the US Code to see who's guilty of what, and then perform a citizen's
arrest.
Rove, for example, could likely be detained on suspicion of obstruction of
justice, having violated Title 1, Section 18, Chapter 73, S. 1505:

Whoever corruptly... obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to
influence [or] obstruct...the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry
under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any
committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress...[s]hall be
fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense
involves international or domestic terrorism...imprisoned not more than 8
years, or both.
I would think that one's fairly cut-and-dry. I'm not a lawyer, however, and
I don't know whether this would interfere with, or be superseded by, the
pending contempt of Congress citation. Still, I think it gives plenty of
"reasonable suspicion," and if Rove is in California, that's all you need. You might
pick up Miers or Bolton as well with that
statute.
It doesn't take much perusing of the U.S. Code to find violations that
administration officials are surely guilty of (the Elections
and Political Activities section is one particular goldmine), and if you
live in a state with lax state laws regarding citizen's arrests, detaining
these people is perfectly within your right. It's just important to follow a
few key steps.
1. Check your state laws first. This can be done by entering the name of
your state and "statutes" into a search engine. An official online
copy of existing state law will usually be the first result. The process for
citizen's arrests will usually be located in the section under Crimes >
Criminal Procedures > Arrests > Arrests by Private Persons, or something
similar. Sometimes statutes are incredibly confusing to navigate through, but
there will often be a search function somewhere on the page.
2. Check to make sure the particular person in question can be suspected of
committing a felony (make sure it's a felony, though this depends on state law
also).
3. Detain the person, without using physical force of any sort. Announce
that you are performing a citizen's arrest, and cite the crime they are
suspected of.
4. Call the police. Make sure you know the relevant citizen's arrest statute
number and the U.S. Code number. You don't want to be the one being arrested.
5. This is risky, and all depends on your state. Make sure you're on solid
legal ground first. It is best to consult a lawyer. WikiHow has an
informative article on citizen's arrests in general.
We really ought to be inspired by the 4 courageous Iowans who dared to try
to hold Rove accountable for his crimes. Government officials, no matter how
high-ranking, should be prevented from even walking the street without fear of
arrest, if they are guilty of a crime. Whether or not justice is done should
not depend on how politically influential the accused is. If the Justice Department
will not do its job, then let citizens uphold the law. Citizen's arrests are a
powerful yet peaceful way to show the strength and defiance of the American
people.