§2153 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

During a war or a national emergency declared by the President or Congress, anyone who, on purpose or knowing it might, harms, destroys, contaminates, infects, or tries to harm war material, war premises, or war utilities to hurt or block the United States or an allied country’s war or defense efforts can be fined under federal law, jailed up to 30 years, or both. If two or more people plan this and any one of them takes a step to carry it out, each person can get the same punishment.

Title 18, §2153

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever, when the United States is at war, or in times of national emergency as declared by the President or by the Congress, with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war or defense activities, or, with reason to believe that his act may injure, interfere with, or obstruct the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war or defense activities, willfully injures, destroys, contaminates or infects, or attempts to so injure, destroy, contaminate or infect any war material, war premises, or war utilities, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than thirty years, or both.

(b)If two or more persons conspire to violate this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in subsection (a) of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 102 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense (Apr. 20, 1918, ch. 59, § 2, 40 Stat. 534). “As herein defined” was deleted as surplusage. The conspiracy provisions are new. Their addition to the section was strongly urged by the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, considering the gravity of the substantive offense as evidenced by the prescribed punishment therefor. The punishment provisions of the general conspiracy statute, section 371 of this title, are inadequate. Words “upon conviction thereof” were omitted as unnecessary since punishment cannot be imposed until a conviction is secured. Minor changes were made in phraseology.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”. 1954—Act Sept. 3, 1954, made section applicable in time of national emergency as well as war, and recognized the possibility of bacteriological warfare by making “contamination” a crime. 1953—Subsec. (a). Act June 30, 1953, inserted “or defense activities” after “carrying on the war”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Repeals

Act

June 30, 1953, ch. 175, § 7, 67 Stat. 134, repealed Joint Res.

July 3, 1952, ch. 570, § 1(a)(29), 66 Stat. 333; Joint Res. Mar. 31, 1953, ch. 13, § 1, 67 Stat. 18, formerly cited as credits to this section and also formerly set out as a note under this section.

§2153 Destruction of war material, war premises, or war utilities