Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Can a foreign citizen who is not a citizen of the United States and lives in a foreign country like Russia have an American citizen arrested from within their country, and not care about borders and sovereignty of the United States of America?

Can a citizen of Russia have an American arrested by sending an e-mail to the local police department, while living in a foreign country and not a citizen of the United States?

I had an incident where a cop threatened to arrest me because of a foreigner in Russia and think it violates American sovereignty. Does it violate USA territorial laws for a foreigner to have an American arrest on a minor charge like harassment?


Asked on 6/08/11, 2:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

American police can arrest you if they have probable cause to believe you committed a crime under American law. There is nothing wrong with acting on information that came from overseas. And you are not entitled to escape the consequences of breaking American law just because your victim is in another country.

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Answered on 6/08/11, 2:21 pm


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