18 U.S.C. § 115

Influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member

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(a)(1) Whoever—(A) assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts or conspires to kidnap or murder, or threatens to assault, kidnap or murder a member of the immediate family of a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under section 1114 of this title; or(B) threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section,with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge, or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).(2) Whoever assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts or conspires to kidnap or murder, or threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, any person who formerly served as a person designated in paragraph (1), or a member of the immediate family of any person who formerly served as a person designated in paragraph (1), with intent to retaliate against such person on account of the performance of official duties during the term of service of such person, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).(b)(1) The punishment for an assault in violation of this section is—(A) a fine under this title; and(B)(i) if the assault consists of a simple assault, a term of imprisonment for not more than 1 year;(ii) if the assault involved physical contact with the victim of that assault or the intent to commit another felony, a term of imprisonment for not more than 10 years;(iii) if the assault resulted in bodily injury, a term of imprisonment for not more than 20 years; or(iv) if the assault resulted in serious bodily injury (as that term is defined in section 1365 of this title, and including any conduct that, if the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, would violate section 2241 or 2242 of this title) or a dangerous weapon was used during and in relation to the offense, a term of imprisonment for not more than 30 years.(2) A kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, or conspiracy to kidnap in violation of this section shall be punished as provided in section 1201 of this title for the kidnapping or attempted kidnapping of, or a conspiracy to kidnap, a person described in section 1201(a)(5) of this title.(3) A murder, attempted murder, or conspiracy to murder in violation of this section shall be punished as provided in sections 1111, 1113, and 1117 of this title.(4) A threat made in violation of this section shall be punished by a fine under this title or imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years, or both, except that imprisonment for a threatened assault shall not exceed 6 years.(c) As used in this section, the term—(1) “Federal law enforcement officer” means any officer, agent, or employee of the United States authorized by law or by a Government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of Federal criminal law;(2) “immediate family member” of an individual means—(A) his spouse, parent, brother or sister, child or person to whom he stands in loco parentis; or(B) any other person living in his household and related to him by blood or marriage;(3) “United States judge” means any judicial officer of the United States, and includes a justice of the Supreme Court and a United States magistrate judge; and(4) “United States official” means the President, President-elect, Vice President, Vice President-elect, a Member of Congress, a member-elect of Congress, a member of the executive branch who is the head of a department listed in 5 U.S.C. 101, or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.(d) This section shall not interfere with the investigative authority of the United States Secret Service, as provided under sections 3056, 871, and 879 of this title.(e) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1008(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2140; amended Pub. L. 99–646, §§ 37(a), 60, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3599, 3613; Pub. L. 100–690, title VI, § 6487(f)[b], Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4386; Pub. L. 101–647, title XXXV, § 3508, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4922; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §§ 330016(2)(C), 330021(1), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148, 2150; Pub. L. 104–132, title VII, §§ 723(a), 727(b), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1300, 1302; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(b)(9), div. C, title I, § 11008(c), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1808, 1818; Pub. L. 110–177, title II, § 208(a), Jan. 7, 2008, 121 Stat. 2538; Pub. L. 117–59, § 3(2), Nov. 18, 2021, 135 Stat. 1469.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2021—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–59 added subsec. (e).

2008—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 110–177 added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: “An assault in violation of this section shall be punished as provided in section 111 of this title.”

2002—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(b)(9), substituted “or attempted kidnapping of, or a conspiracy to kidnap, a person” for “, attempted kidnapping, or conspiracy to kidnap of a person”.

Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 107–273, § 11008(c), substituted “10” for “five” and “6” for “three”.

1996—Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 104–132, § 723(a)(1), inserted “or conspires” after “attempts”.

Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–132, § 727(b)(1), which directed insertion of “, or threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, any person who formerly served as a person designated in paragraph (1), or” after “assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts to kidnap or murder”, was executed by making the substitution after “assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts or conspires to kidnap or murder” to reflect the probable intent of Congress and the amendment by Pub. L. 104–132, § 723(a)(1). See below.

Pub. L. 104–132, § 723(a)(1), inserted “or conspires” after “attempts”.

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104–132, § 723(a)(2), substituted “, attempted kidnapping, or conspiracy to kidnap” for “or attempted kidnapping” in two places.

Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 104–132, § 723(a)(3), substituted “, attempted murder, or conspiracy to murder” and “, 1113, and 1117” for “or attempted murder” and “and 1113”, respectively.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–132, § 727(b)(2), added subsec. (d).

1994—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 103–322, § 330021(1), substituted “kidnapping” for “kidnaping” in two places.

Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(2)(C), substituted “fine under this title” for “fine of not more than $5,000”.

1990—Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 101–647 substituted “the Central” for “The Central”.

1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–690 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “Whoever assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts to kidnap or murder, or threatens to assault, kidnap or murder a member of the immediate family of a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under section 1114 of this title, or threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against such official, judge or law enforcement officer while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).”

1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–646, § 60, substituted “section 1114 of this title, or threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section” for “18 U.S.C. 1114, as amended,”, “while engaged” for “while he is engaged”, and “official duties” for “his official duties”.

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 99–646, § 37(a), inserted “for the kidnapping or attempted kidnapping of a person described in section 1201(a)(5) of this title”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesChange of Name

Reference to the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Director’s capacity as the head of the intelligence community deemed to be a reference to the Director of National Intelligence. Reference to the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Director’s capacity as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency deemed to be a reference to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. See section 1081(a), (b) of Pub. L. 108–458, set out as a note under section 3001 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

“United States magistrate judge” substituted for “United States magistrate” in subsec. (c)(3) pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of the functions, personnel, assets, and obligations of the United States Secret Service, including the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 381, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 422 cases (77 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247 (9th Cir. 2009).
United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247 (9th Cir. 2009). · cites it 6× “[5] Counts 10 and 11 charged Hinkson with violating 18 U.S.C. § 115 [6] by threatening to kill the children of Cook and Hines.”
United States v. Turner, 720 F.3d 411 (2d Cir. 2013). · cites it 16× “Procedural History 23 Turner was indicted on July 22, 2009, for “threaten[ing] to assault and 24 murder three United States judges with the intent to impede, intimidate, and 25 interfere with such judges while engaged in the performance of official duties 10 1 and with intent to…”
United States v. Jeffrey Williamson, 903 F.3d 124 (D.C. Cir. 2018). · cites it 9× “" 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). Williamson chose to represent himself, and the case proceeded to trial.”
United States v. Robert D. Stewart, Jr., AKA Robert Wilson Stewart, Bob Stewart, 420 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 2005). · cites it 8× “Counts 1 and 4 — Threatening to murder a federal judge, and soliciting another person to murder a federal judge Count 1 alleged Stewart threatened to murder Judge Silver with the intent to impede, intimidate, or retaliate against her on account of the performance of her official…”
United States v. Kurt Douglas Raymer, 876 F.2d 383 (5th Cir. 1989). · cites it 12× “He asserts three major claims: (1) that his confession was involuntary, (2) that the *385 government improperly elicited evidence from his psychologist, and (3) that the statute creating the offense ( 18 U.S.C. § 115 ) does not apply to a retired official.”
United States v. Hunt, 82 F.4th 129 (2d Cir. 2023). · cites it 8× “Based on this video, a jury convicted Hunt of one count of threatening to assault and murder members of Congress in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). The district court (Chen, J.”
United States v. Erik D. Erskine, 355 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 2004). · cites it 5× “Erik Erskine appeals his conviction on one count of threatening to assault or murder FBI agents, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). Erskine contends that the district court erred in finding a knowing and voluntary waiver of counsel and allowing him to represent himself…”
United States v. Evans, 581 F.3d 333 (6th Cir. 2009). · cites it 10× “Defendant Alethea Evans appeals the district court’s order affirming her conviction for threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). Evans claims that the Federal Protective Service (“FPS”) officers who conducted an…”
United States v. Jacqueline Anderson, 46 F.4th 1000 (9th Cir. 2022). · cites it 12× “ANDERSON SUMMARY* Criminal Law The panel affirmed Jacqueline Anderson’s jury conviction for threatening a person assisting federal officers and employees in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). Anderson threatened to kill a Protective Security Officer while he was on duty at…”
United States v. Robert Haas, 37 F.4th 1256 (7th Cir. 2022). · cites it 7× “For the direct threats against Kostuchowski, Haas was charged initially with four counts of threatening a federal official under 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B). A fifth count was added later, based on Haas’s tirade to an Illinois State Police patrol sergeant who was transporting him…”
United States v. Mark Green A/K/A Mark Wallace, Mark Green, 25 F.3d 206 (3rd Cir. 1994). · cites it 9× “A grand jury returned a two count indictment on November 10, 1992 charging Green with threatening a federal law enforcement officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115 (a)(1)(B) (1988); threatening the family of a federal law enforcement officer in violation of 18 U.”
United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). · cites it 2× “a member of the immediate family” of “a United States official, a United States judge, [or] a Federal law enforcement officer,” 18 U. S. C. §115 (a)(1)(A), with the intent to influence or retaliate against that official, §115(a)(1).”
— 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(A) — 1 case
Seay v. Batts (W.D. Tenn. 2019).
— 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B) — 2 cases
United States v. William Milliron, 984 F.3d 1188 (6th Cir. 2021).
Commonwealth v. Wallace, 97 A.3d 310 (Pa. 2014).
— 18 U.S.C. § 115(b) — 2 cases
Rendelman v. United States (S.D. Ill. 2024).
United States v. Cua (D.D.C. 2023).
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