§1513 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

Makes it a federal crime to hurt, threaten, try to kill, or actually kill someone as revenge for a person taking part in a legal hearing or for giving information to police about a federal crime. Protected activities covered are: attending or testifying in an official proceeding (including giving records or documents), and giving police information about a federal crime or about breaking probation, parole, or similar release rules. If someone kills for these reasons they face the federal penalties for killing; an attempted killing can bring up to 30 years in prison. Causing injury, damaging property, or threatening those things for these reasons is also illegal. If the revenge is for testifying in a criminal case, the jail term can be as long as the longest punishment tied to that case. Federal courts can charge these crimes even if they happen outside the United States. Hurting a person’s job or livelihood to punish them for giving truthful information to police can bring fines, up to 10 years in prison, or both. Conspiracy to do any of these acts is punished the same as the act itself. Prosecution can happen where the hearing was intended to be affected or where the bad conduct happened.

Title 18, §1513

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Whoever kills or attempts to kill another person with intent to retaliate against any person for—

(A)the attendance of a witness or party at an official proceeding, or any testimony given or any record, document, or other object produced by a witness in an official proceeding; or

(B)providing to a law enforcement officer any information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, supervised release, parole, or release pending judicial proceedings,

(2)The punishment for an offense under this subsection is—

(A)in the case of a killing, the punishment provided in section 1111 and 1112; and

(B)in the case of an attempt, imprisonment for not more than 30 years.

(b)Whoever knowingly engages in any conduct and thereby causes bodily injury to another person or damages the tangible property of another person, or threatens to do so, with intent to retaliate against any person for—

(1)the attendance of a witness or party at an official proceeding, or any testimony given or any record, document, or other object produced by a witness in an official proceeding; or

(2)any information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, supervised release, parole, or release pending judicial proceedings given by a person to a law enforcement officer;

(c)If the retaliation occurred because of attendance at or testimony in a criminal case, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense under this section shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case.

(d)There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section.

(e)Whoever knowingly, with the intent to retaliate, takes any action harmful to any person, including interference with the lawful employment or livelihood of any person, for providing to a law enforcement officer any truthful information relating to the commission or possible commission of any Federal offense, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

(f)Whoever conspires to commit any offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

(g)A prosecution under this section may be brought in the district in which the official proceeding (whether pending, about to be instituted, or completed) was intended to be affected, or in which the conduct constituting the alleged offense occurred.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 110–177, § 206(1), inserted comma after “probation” and struck out comma after “release,”. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 110–177, § 206(2), substituted “30 years” for “20 years”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–177, § 206(3)(B), substituted “20 years” for “ten years” in concluding provisions. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 110–177, § 206(3)(A), inserted comma after “probation” and struck out comma after “release,”. Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 110–177, § 206(4), redesignated subsec. (e) relating to conspiracy to commit any offense under this section as (f). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–177, § 204, added subsec. (g). 2002—Subsecs. (a)(1)(B), (b)(2). Pub. L. 107–273, § 3001(c)(2), inserted “supervised release,” after “probation”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(b)(4), transferred subsec. (d) to appear after subsec. (c). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–273, § 3001(b), added subsec. (e) relating to conspiracy to commit any offense under this section. Pub. L. 107–204 added subsec. (e) relating to taking of action harmful to any person for providing law

Enforcement

officer truthful information relating to commission of offense. 1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–214, § 1(1)(B), added subsec. (c) at end. Pub. L. 104–214, § 1(1)(A), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–214, § 1(1)(A), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d). 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322, § 60017(2), added subsec. (a). Former subsec. (a) redesignated (b). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(1)(U), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $250,000” in concluding provisions. Pub. L. 103–322, § 60017(1), redesignated subsec. (a) as (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–322, § 60017(1), redesignated subsec. (b) as (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 12, 1982, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 97–291, set out as a note under section 1512 of this title.

§1513 Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant