Threats against former Presidents and certain other persons
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) Whoever knowingly and threatens to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon—
(1) a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President;
(2) a member of the immediate family of the President, the President-elect, the Vice President, or the Vice President-elect;
(3) a major candidate for the office of President or Vice President, or a member of the immediate family of such candidate; or
(4) a person protected by the Secret Service under section 3056(a)(6);
shall be or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(b)
As used in this section—
(1) the term "immediate family" means—
(A) with respect to subsection (a)(1) of this section, the spouse of a former President during a former President's lifetime, the surviving spouse of a former President until the surviving spouse's death or remarriage, and minor children of a former President until they reach sixteen years of age; and
(B) with respect to subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section, a person to whom the President, President-elect, Vice President, Vice President-elect, or major candidate for the office of President or Vice President—
(i) is related by blood, marriage, or adoption; or
(ii) stands in loco parentis;
(2) the term "major candidate for the office of President or Vice President" means a candidate referred to in subsection (a)(7) of section 3056 of this title; and
(3) the terms "President-elect" and "Vice President-elect" have the meanings given those terms in section 871(b) of this title.
History: (Added Pub. L. 97–297, §1(a), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1317; amended Pub. L. 98–587, §3(a), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3111; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB); Pub. L. 106–544, §2(a), (b)(1), Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2715; Pub. L. 117–272, §2, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4181.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to threaten to kill, kidnap, or physically harm former Presidents and their immediate families, family members of the President or Vice President (or those elected to those offices), major presidential or vice presidential candidates and their families, and certain other people protected by the Secret Service.