Congressional, Cabinet, and Supreme Court assassination, kidnapping, and assault; penalties
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(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 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 , 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 , 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 , 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.
History: (Added Pub. L. 91–644, title IV, §15, Jan. 2, 1971, 84 Stat. 1891 (PDF, 2.6 MB); 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 (PDF, 5.1 MB); Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7074, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4405 (PDF, 56 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXII, §320101(d), title XXXIII, §§330016(1)(K), (L), 330021(1), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2108 (PDF, 52 MB), 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.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to kill, kidnap, attempt to kill or kidnap, conspire to kill or kidnap, or assault certain top federal officials. Protected people include Members of Congress (and those elected), Cabinet department heads and their second-in-command, top intelligence and CIA leaders, major presidential and vice presidential candidates, and Supreme Court Justices, plus nominees for some of these posts. Killings are punished under the federal murder and manslaughter laws (sections 1111 and 1112).