I'm wondering how that would work in a situation like this. There is a crowd outside my door and they want to burn down my house. Clearly I have reasons to fear for my life if I stay inside the house. I'm also not sure I'd be that comfortable to leave the house, given that there is a hostile uncontrolled crowd outside. I don't have their written guarantee not to harm me, nor would I trust one even if I had it. Is this reason enough to use lethal force, are there precedents?
In most US states the large disparity of force between an angry mob and a single man with a rifle would be easily understood by a court. In some US states you can use deadly force to defend against arson, and as far as I know all US states permit the use of deadly force to defend against arson of an occupied structure. Note that I am not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.
I'm also interested in just the tactical viewpoint. Suppose legal issues are not a concern. Is it wise to fire at a crowd, are they likely to disperse or are they likely to become more violent?
I'd be trying to evaluate the mob and evaluate my chances of survival either way. The weather could have a big impact if the mob is taking away my only shelter. I might feel as though I had no choice (one way or the other), if my children were with me.
Where I live, if the police aren't taking care of business the best hope I'd have is to know that the trouble was coming and work with my neighbors to defend our neighborhood.
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