PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

It is illegal to knowingly and on purpose threaten to kill, kidnap, or seriously hurt certain protected people. That rule covers a former President or their immediate family; the immediate family of the President, President-elect, Vice President, or Vice President-elect; a major candidate for President or Vice President or that candidate’s immediate family; and anyone the Secret Service protects under section 3056(a)(6). A violator can be fined, put in jail for up to 5 years, or both. Immediate family (former President): the former President’s spouse during the President’s lifetime, the surviving spouse until death or remarriage, and minor children until age 16. Immediate family (President, President-elect, Vice President, Vice President-elect, or major candidate): someone related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or a person who stands in loco parentis (acts as a parent). “Major candidate” means the candidate described in section 3056(a)(7). “President-elect” and “Vice President-elect” are defined in section 871(b).

Title 18, §879

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever knowingly and willfully threatens to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon—

(1)a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President;

(2)a member of the immediate family of the President, the President-elect, the Vice President, or the Vice President-elect;

(3)a major candidate for the office of President or Vice President, or a member of the immediate family of such candidate; or

(4)a person protected by the Secret Service under section 3056(a)(6);

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

(b)As used in this section—

(1)the term “immediate family” means—

(A)with respect to subsection (a)(1) of this section, the spouse of a former President during a former President’s lifetime, the surviving spouse of a former President until the surviving spouse’s death or remarriage, and minor children of a former President until they reach sixteen years of age; and

(B)with respect to subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section, a person to whom the President, President-elect, Vice President, Vice President-elect, or major candidate for the office of President or Vice President—

(i)is related by blood, marriage, or adoption; or

(ii)stands in loco parentis;

(2)the term “major candidate for the office of President or Vice President” means a candidate referred to in subsection (a)(7) of section 3056 of this title; and

(3)the terms “President-elect” and “Vice President-elect” have the meanings given those terms in section 871(b) of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–272 substituted “the spouse of a former President during a former President’s lifetime, the surviving spouse of a former President until the surviving spouse’s death or remarriage” for “the wife of a former President during his lifetime, the widow of a former President until her death or remarriage”. 2000—Pub. L. 106–544, § 2(b)(1), struck out “protected by the Secret Service” after “other persons” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–544, § 2(a)(1)–(4), in par. (3), substituted “a member of the immediate family” for “the spouse”, added par. (4), and, in concluding provisions, struck out “who is protected by the Secret Service as provided by law,” before “shall be fined” and substituted “5 years” for “three years”. Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 106–544, § 2(a)(5), in introductory provisions, inserted “and (a)(3)” after “subsection (a)(2)” and substituted “Vice President-elect, or major candidate for the office of President or Vice President” for “or Vice President-elect”. 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” in concluding provisions. 1984—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98–587 substituted “subsection (a)(7) of section 3056 of this title” for “the first section of the joint resolution entitled ‘Joint resolution to authorize the United States Secret Service to furnish protection to major Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates’, approved June 6, 1968 (18 U.S.C. 3056 note)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of the functions, personnel, assets, and obligations of the United States Secret Service, including the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 381, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§879 Threats Against Former Presidents and Certain Other Persons