18 U.S.C. § 351 — Congressional, Cabinet, and Supreme Court assassination, kidnapping, and assault; penalties

submitted 55 years ago by Pub. L. 91-644 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 496 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law protects Congress members, top officials, presidential candidates, and Justices from killing, kidnapping, and assault. Killing one of them is punished like murder, and kidnapping can bring life in prison or death. Assault can bring fines or prison time.

(a) This section protects a specific list of officials. That list includes members of Congress, the heads of executive departments (or their top deputy), and people nominated to those jobs. It also covers the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA Director, and their nominees. It includes major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and Supreme Court Justices, plus Justice nominees. Killing any of these people is punished under sections 1111 and 1112, the general murder and manslaughter laws.
(b) Kidnapping a protected person is punished by imprisonment for years or life. If the victim dies, the punishment can be death or life imprisonment.
(c) Attempting to kill or kidnap a protected person is punished by imprisonment for years or life.
(d) If two or more people conspire to kill or kidnap a protected person, each faces the same punishment as kidnapping. This applies once any one of them takes an act to carry out the plan.
(e) Assaulting a protected person brings a fine or up to one year in prison. If the assault used a dangerous weapon or caused injury, the fine can rise, or prison time can reach ten years.
(f) Once federal authorities assert jurisdiction over a case under this section, state and local authorities must step aside until the federal case ends.
(g) The FBI investigates violations. It may ask any federal, state, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, for help.
(h) Prosecutors do not need to prove the defendant knew the victim was a protected person.
(i) This section applies even to conduct that happens outside the United States.

facts

- Location: Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 351, within Title 18 of the U.S. Code. - Original Enactment: Added by Pub. L. 91–644, title IV, § 15, on January 2, 1971 (84 Stat. 1891). - Length: Contains 496 words, spanning subsections (a) through (i). - Amendments: Amended seven times, most recently by Pub. L. 112–87, title V, § 506, on January 3, 2012. - Source Credit: Reflects eight distinct public law citations in its source-credit history.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

Whoever kills any individual who is a Member of Congress or a Member-of-Congress-elect, a member of the executive branch of the Government who is the head, or a person nominated to be head during the pendency of such nomination, of a department listed in section 101 of title 5 or the second ranking official in such department, the Director (or a person nominated to be Director during the pendency of such nomination) or Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, the Director (or a person nominated to be Director during the pendency of such nomination) or Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a major Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate (as defined in section 3056 of this title), or a Justice of the United States, as defined in section 451 of title 28, or a person nominated to be a Justice of the United States, during the pendency of such nomination, shall be punished as provided by sections 1111 and 1112 of this title.

(b)

Whoever kidnaps any individual designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be punished (1) by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or (2) by death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life, if death results to such individual.

(c)

Whoever attempts to kill or kidnap any individual designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.

(d)

If two or more persons conspire to kill or kidnap any individual designated in subsection (a) of this section and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punished (1) by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or (2) by death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life, if death results to such individual.

(e)

Whoever assaults any person designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the assault involved the use of a dangerous weapon, or personal injury results, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(f)

If Federal investigative or prosecutive jurisdiction is asserted for a violation of this section, such assertion shall suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a State or local authority, under any applicable State or local law, until Federal action is terminated.

(g)

Violations of this section shall be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistance may be requested from any Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding.

(h)

In a prosecution for an offense under this section the Government need not prove that the defendant knew that the victim of the offense was an individual protected by this section.

(i)

There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 91–644, title IV, § 15, Jan. 2, 1971, 84 Stat. 1891; amended Pub. L. 97–285, §§ 1, 2(a), Oct. 6, 1982, 96 Stat. 1219; Pub. L. 99–646, § 62, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3614; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7074, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4405; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXII, § 320101(d), title XXXIII, §§ 330016(1)(K), (L), 330021(1), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2108, 2147, 2150; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 604(b)(12)(C), (c)(2), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3507, 3509; Pub. L. 112–87, title V, § 506, Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1897.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1971Enacted · Pub. L. 91-644 · 84 Stat. 1891
1982Amended · Pub. L. 97-285 · 96 Stat. 1219
1986Amended · Pub. L. 99-646 · 100 Stat. 3614
1988Amended · Pub. L. 100-690 · 102 Stat. 4405
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2108, 2147, 2150
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-294 · 110 Stat. 3507, 3509
2012Amended · Pub. L. 112-87 · 125 Stat. 1897

The record indicates that this section was added by Public Law 91-644, title IV, § 15, enacted January 2, 1971, and reported at 84 Stat. 1891. The source credit shows the provision has since been amended seven times: by Public Law 97-285 (1982), Public Law 99-646 (1986), Public Law 100-690 (1988), Public Law 103-322 (1994), Public Law 104-294 (1996), and Public Law 112-87 (2012). This pattern reflects a statute periodically revisited by Congress over four decades, though the source credit does not itself explain the substance or motivation behind each amendment. Public Law 91-644 is generally understood to be an omnibus crime-control measure enacted in the early 1970s, a period in which Congress passed several broad statutes addressing violent crime and expanding federal law-enforcement authority. Provisions criminalizing assassination, kidnapping, and assault against high federal officials are commonly associated with concerns, prominent in that era, about protecting officials in the line of succession and other key government figures from politically motivated violence. Beyond this general background, the record does not establish the specific legislative reasoning for including this particular section within the 1971 act, nor does it document the individual purposes behind each of the later amendments listed in the source credit. Any more specific account of congressional intent would go beyond what the supplied material supports.

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