28 U.S.C. § 540A — Investigation of violent crimes against travelers

(a) At the request of an appropriate State or local law-enforcement official, the Attorney General and FBI Director may help investigate a State-law felony crime of violence when the victim appears to have been selected because the victim was a traveler. (b) If the traveler is from a foreign country, the Attorney General, FBI Director, and, when appropriate, Secretary of State must help State or local prosecutors and law-enforcement officials as fully as possible obtain from abroad evidence or other information needed to investigate and prosecute the crime effectively. (c) Definitions. (1) “Felony crime of violence” means an offense punishable by more than one year in prison that includes using, trying to use, or threatening physical force against another person. (2) “State” means a State, the District of Columbia, and any United States commonwealth, territory, or possession. (3) “Traveler” means a crime-of-violence victim who does not live in the State where the crime occurred.