§2156 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

It is a crime to deliberately make or try to make military materials, defense buildings, or the utilities that serve them, or the tools used to make or fix those things, in a faulty way when you mean to harm, interfere with, or block the United States' defense. A person who does this can be fined, put in prison for up to ten years, or both. If two or more people plan to do this and at least one of them takes a step to carry out the plan, everyone who joined the plan can be punished the same way.

Title 18, §2156

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever, with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the national defense of the United States, willfully makes, constructs, or attempts to make or construct in a defective manner, any national-defense material, national-defense premises or national-defense utilities, or any tool, implement, machine, utensil, or receptacle used or employed in making, producing, manufacturing, or repairing any such national-defense material, national-defense premises or national-defense utilities, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten 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 106 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense (Apr. 20, 1918, ch. 59, § 6, as added Nov. 30, 1940, ch. 926, 54 Stat. 1221). Reference to persons causing or procuring was omitted as unnecessary in view of definition of “principal” in section 2 of this title. 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

1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “, or” for “or” in section catchline. 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”. 1954—Act Sept. 3, 1954, inserted conspiracy provisions.

§2156 Production of Defective National-defense Material, National-defense Premises, or National-defense Utilities