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

Summary

If someone inside the United States agrees with others (even if those others are abroad) to commit murder, kidnapping, or maiming in another country, or to damage certain foreign government or public property overseas (like transport, utilities, or religious/educational/cultural sites in a country the U.S. is at peace with), and any conspirator takes a step in the U.S. to help the plan, they can be prosecuted. Penalties: any term of years or life for conspiracies to murder or kidnap; up to 35 years for maiming; up to 25 years for damaging the listed property.

Title 18, §956

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Whoever, within the jurisdiction of the United States, conspires with one or more other persons, regardless of where such other person or persons are located, to commit at any place outside the United States an act that would constitute the offense of murder, kidnapping, or maiming if committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States shall, if any of the conspirators commits an act within the jurisdiction of the United States to effect any object of the conspiracy, be punished as provided in subsection (a)(2).

(2)The punishment for an offense under subsection (a)(1) of this section is—

(A)imprisonment for any term of years or for life if the offense is conspiracy to murder or kidnap; and

(B)imprisonment for not more than 35 years if the offense is conspiracy to maim.

(b)Whoever, within the jurisdiction of the United States, conspires with one or more persons, regardless of where such other person or persons are located, to damage or destroy specific property situated within a foreign country and belonging to a foreign government or to any political subdivision thereof with which the United States is at peace, or any railroad, canal, bridge, airport, airfield, or other public utility, public conveyance, or public structure, or any religious, educational, or cultural property so situated, shall, if any of the conspirators commits an act within the jurisdiction of the United States to effect any object of the conspiracy, be imprisoned not more than 25 years.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 234 of title 22, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Foreign Relations and Intercourse (June 15, 1917, ch. 30, title VIII, § 5, 40 Stat. 226).

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–132 substituted “Conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country” for “Conspiracy to injure property of foreign government” as section catchline and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “(a) If two or more persons within the jurisdiction of the United States conspire to injure or destroy specific property situated within a foreign country and belonging to a foreign government or to any political subdivision thereof with which the United States is at peace, or any railroad, canal, bridge, or other public utility so situated, and if one or more such persons commits an act within the jurisdiction of the United States to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to the conspiracy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. “(b) Any indictment or information under this section shall describe the specific property which it was the object of the conspiracy to injure or destroy.” 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.

§956 Conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country