Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-42 (2026)

Assault or battery by mob

✓ current as of May 2026

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Any and every person composing a mob which shall commit a simple assault or battery shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 18.1-31; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 21 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1990–2024 · leading case: Hamilton v. Com., 688 S.E.2d 168 (Va. 2010).

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Hamilton v. Com., 688 S.E.2d 168 (Va. 2010). · cites it 15× “Kelis Allen Hamilton was convicted by jury trial in the Circuit Court of Augusta County of three counts of assault and battery by a mob in violation of Code § 18.2-42 and one count of participating in a criminal street gang in violation of Code § 18.”

Abdullah v. Commonwealth, 675 S.E.2d 215 (Va. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 10× “2-58, and misdemeanor *753 assault while part of a mob, in violation of Code § 18.2-42. Appellant on appeal challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting these convictions.”

Commonwealth v. Leal, 574 S.E.2d 285 (Va. 2003). · cites it 4× “” During a trial by jury, the circuit court refused an instruction tendered by the defendant which would have permitted the jury to find him guilty of assault or battery by mob in violation of Code § 18.2-42. That statute provides that any person “composing a mob which shall…”

Waters v. Commonwealth, 600 S.E.2d 918 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 12× “At Hicks's trial, the judge found that the mob committed a simple assault and battery upon Claude Shifflett and, therefore, convicted Hicks of a violation of Code § 18.2-42, which provides that "[a]ny and every person composing a mob which shall commit a simple assault or…”

Hughes v. Commonwealth, 573 S.E.2d 324 (Va. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “Appellant was also certified and indicted on the charge of felonious assault by mob in violation of Code § 18.2-42 and found not guilty at his jury trial.”

Leal v. Commonwealth, 559 S.E.2d 874 (Va. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 6× “Whether the offense of assault and battery by a mob, Code § 18.2-42, is a lesser-included offense of malicious wounding by a mob, Code § 18.”

Harrell v. Commonwealth, 396 S.E.2d 680 (Va. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 2× “Code § 18.2-42. However, a distinction is made in the level of punishment for unlawful wounding.”

Paiz v. Commonwealth, 682 S.E.2d 71 (Va. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 4× “Originally, Article 2 made members of a mob collectively responsible for only three crimes: simple assault and battery, Code § 18.2-42; malicious wounding by mob, Code § 18.”

Phillips v. Commonwealth, 694 S.E.2d 805 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “1 defines a "predicate criminal act," as described in the third prong of the criminal street gang definition, as (i) an act of violence; (ii) any violation of § 18.2-42, 18.2-46.3, 18.2-51, 18.2-51.1, 18.”

Morris v. Commonwealth, 716 S.E.2d 139 (Va. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “Appellant was also convicted at trial of assault or battery by mob, in violation of Code § 18.2-42, and malicious wounding by mob, in violation of Code § 18.”

Lebron v. Commonwealth, 712 S.E.2d 15 (Va. Ct. App. 2011). “The term “[predicate criminal act” is defined as, among other things, “any violation of § 18.2-42”, assault or battery by a mob. Hamilton, 279 Va.”

Eric Antonio Newsome v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 7× “Eric Antonio Newsome appeals his convictions for assault and battery by mob, in violation of Code § 18.2-42; disorderly conduct, in violation of Code § 18.”

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