Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73
§1071 Concealing person from arrest
Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 49— - FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE › § 1071
Summary
Hiding someone who has a U.S. arrest warrant, knowing it, is illegal. Penalty: a fine or up to 1 year in jail; if the warrant is for a felony or follows a conviction, the jail term can be up to 5 years.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1071
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Whoever harbors or conceals any person for whose arrest a warrant or process has been issued under the provisions of any law of the United States, so as to prevent his discovery and arrest, after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for the apprehension of such person, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; except that if the warrant or process issued on a charge of felony, or after conviction of such person of any offense, the punishment shall be a fine under this title, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 246 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 141, 35 Stat. 1114). Section 246 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., was divided. Part is in this section and the remainder is incorporated in section 752 of this title. Minor changes were made in phraseology.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “fine under this title” for “fine of under this title”. 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “under this title” for “not more than $1,000” after “person, shall be fined” and for “not more than $5,000” after “shall be a fine of”. 1954—Act Aug. 20, 1954, increased the penalty from 6 months to 1 year where the violator harbored a person for whom process has been issued on a misdemeanor charge and inserted the penalty provision where the violation occurred after a person has been convicted of any offense or where a process has been issued for a felony.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1071
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73