Enticing desertion and harboring deserters
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever entices or procures, or or endeavors to entice or procure any person in the Armed Forces of the United States, or who has been recruited for service therein, to desert therefrom, or aids any such person in deserting or in attempting to desert from such service; or
Whoever harbors, conceals, protects, or assists any such person who may have deserted from such service, knowing him to have deserted therefrom, or refuses to give up and deliver such person on the demand of any officer authorized to receive him—
Shall be or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 764 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(I), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to persuade or help a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (or a new recruit) to desert. It is also a crime to hide or protect a known deserter, or to refuse to hand one over when an authorized officer demands it.