18 U.S.C. § 1388 — Prohibition on disruptions of funerals of members or former members of the Armed Forces

(a) Prohibition. For a funeral of an Armed Forces member or former member not at a National Cemetery Administration cemetery or Arlington National Cemetery, a person may not, during the period from 120 minutes before through 120 minutes after the funeral, engage in an activity that includes any of the following: (1) The activity occurs at the funeral location or within 300 feet of the intersection of its boundary and a road, path, or other entry or exit route, and an individual willfully makes or helps make a noise or diversion that is not part of the funeral, disturbs or tends to disturb its peace or good order, and is intended to do so. (2) The activity is within 500 feet of the location boundary, and an individual willfully and without proper authorization impedes or tends to impede access or exit, intending to do so. (3) The activity is on or near the residence, home, or domicile of a surviving immediate-family member and an individual willfully makes or helps make a noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the peace of people there and is intended to do so. (b) Penalty. A violator may be fined under title 18, imprisoned for up to one year, or both. (c) Civil remedies. (1) United States district courts may prevent and restrain violations and decide claims for relief under this section. (2) The Attorney General may bring a proceeding. (3) Anyone injured by violating conduct, including a surviving immediate-family member, may sue in an appropriate district court or any court with jurisdiction and recover subsection (d) damages and lawsuit costs, including reasonable attorney fees. (4) A final criminal judgment or decree for the United States prevents the defendant from denying the offense’s essential allegations in a later civil case brought by a person or the United States. (d) Actual and statutory damages. (1) In addition to subsection (b)’s penalty, a violator is liable for actual or statutory damages under this subsection. (2) A private plaintiff may elect before final judgment to recover actual injury damages or statutory damages for each violation. (3) In an Attorney General action, the Attorney General may recover statutory damages for each violation even if someone also recovers under subsection (c)(3). (4) A court may award statutory damages it considers just, from $25,000 through $50,000 per violation. (e) Rebuttable presumption. For deciding relief, there is a rebuttable presumption that a violation was willful if the violator or someone acting with the violator lacked reasonable grounds to believe, based on the attention or publicity sought or another circumstance, that the conduct would not disturb the funeral’s peace or good order, impede or tend to impede access or exit, or disturb the peace of any surviving member of the deceased person’s immediate family who may be found on or near the residence, home, or domicile of the deceased person’s immediate family on the service or ceremony date. (f) Definitions. “Armed Forces” has the meaning in section 101 of title 10 and includes National Guard members employed in United States service. “Immediate family” means, for a person, that person’s immediate family members as defined in section 115 of this title. This section does not define either quoted term itself.