§ 2332b. — Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC2332b]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 113B--TERRORISM
Sec. 2332b. Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries
(a) Prohibited Acts.--
(1) Offenses.--Whoever, involving conduct transcending national
boundaries and in a circumstance described in subsection (b)--
(A) kills, kidnaps, maims, commits an assault resulting in
serious bodily injury, or assaults with a dangerous weapon any
person within the United States; or
(B) creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to
any other person by destroying or damaging any structure,
conveyance, or other real or personal property within the United
States or by attempting or conspiring to destroy or damage any
structure, conveyance, or other real or personal property within
the United States;
in violation of the laws of any State, or the United States, shall
be punished as prescribed in subsection (c).
(2) Treatment of threats, attempts and conspiracies.--Whoever
threatens to commit an offense under paragraph (1), or attempts or
conspires to do so, shall be punished under subsection (c).
(b) Jurisdictional Bases.--
(1) Circumstances.--The circumstances referred to in subsection
(a) are--
(A) the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign
commerce is used in furtherance of the offense;
(B) the offense obstructs, delays, or affects interstate or
foreign commerce, or would have so obstructed, delayed, or
affected interstate or foreign commerce if the offense had been
consummated;
(C) the victim, or intended victim, is the United States
Government, a member of the uniformed services, or any official,
officer, employee, or agent of the legislative, executive, or
judicial branches, or of any department or agency, of the United
States;
(D) the structure, conveyance, or other real or personal
property is, in whole or in part, owned, possessed, or leased to
the United States, or any department or agency of the United
States;
(E) the offense is committed in the territorial sea
(including the airspace above and the seabed and subsoil below,
and artificial islands and fixed structures erected thereon) of
the United States; or
(F) the offense is committed within the special maritime and
territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
(2) Co-conspirators and accessories after the fact.--
Jurisdiction shall exist over all principals and co-conspirators of
an offense under this section, and accessories after the fact to any
offense under this section, if at least one of the circumstances
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1) is
applicable to at least one offender.
(c) Penalties.--
(1) Penalties.--Whoever violates this section shall be
punished--
(A) for a killing, or if death results to any person from
any other conduct prohibited by this section, by death, or by
imprisonment for any term of years or for life;
(B) for kidnapping, by imprisonment for any term of years or
for life;
(C) for maiming, by imprisonment for not more than 35 years;
(D) for assault with a dangerous weapon or assault resulting
in serious bodily injury, by imprisonment for not more than 30
years;
(E) for destroying or damaging any structure, conveyance, or
other real or personal property, by imprisonment for not more
than 25 years;
(F) for attempting or conspiring to commit an offense, for
any term of years up to the maximum punishment that would have
applied had the offense been completed; and
(G) for threatening to commit an offense under this section,
by imprisonment for not more than 10 years.
(2) Consecutive sentence.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the court shall not place on probation any person convicted
of a violation of this section; nor shall the term of imprisonment
imposed under this section run concurrently with any other term of
imprisonment.
(d) Proof Requirements.--The following shall apply to prosecutions
under this section:
(1) Knowledge.--The prosecution is not required to prove
knowledge by any defendant of a jurisdictional base alleged in the
indictment.
(2) State law.--In a prosecution under this section that is
based upon the adoption of State law, only the elements of the
offense under State law, and not any provisions pertaining to
criminal procedure or evidence, are adopted.
(e) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is extraterritorial
Federal jurisdiction--
(1) over any offense under subsection (a), including any threat,
attempt, or conspiracy to commit such offense; and
(2) over conduct which, under section 3, renders any person an
accessory after the fact to an offense under subsection (a).
(f) Investigative Authority.--In addition to any other investigative
authority with respect to violations of this title, the Attorney General
shall have primary investigative responsibility for all Federal crimes
of terrorism, and any violation of section 351(e), 844(e), 844(f)(1),
956(b), 1361, 1366(b), 1366(c), 1751(e), 2152, or 2156 of this title,
and the Secretary of the Treasury shall assist the Attorney General at
the request of the Attorney General. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to interfere with the authority of the United States Secret
Service under section 3056.
(g) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``conduct transcending national boundaries'' means
conduct occurring outside of the United States in addition to the
conduct occurring in the United States;
(2) the term ``facility of interstate or foreign commerce'' has
the meaning given that term in section 1958(b)(2);
(3) the term ``serious bodily injury'' has the meaning given
that term in section 1365(g)(3); \1\
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\1\ See References in Text note below.
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(4) the term ``territorial sea of the United States'' means all
waters extending seaward to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of
the United States, determined in accordance with international law;
and
(5) the term ``Federal crime of terrorism'' means an offense
that--
(A) is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of
government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against
government conduct; and
(B) is a violation of--
(i) section 32 (relating to destruction of aircraft or
aircraft facilities), 37 (relating to violence at
international airports), 81 (relating to arson within
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction), 175 or 175b
(relating to biological weapons), 229 (relating to chemical
weapons), subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) of section 351
(relating to congressional, cabinet, and Supreme Court
assassination and kidnaping), 831 (relating to nuclear
materials), 842(m) or (n) (relating to plastic explosives),
844(f)(2) or (3) (relating to arson and bombing of
Government property risking or causing death), 844(i)
(relating to arson and bombing of property used in
interstate commerce), 930(c) (relating to killing or
attempted killing during an attack on a Federal facility
with a dangerous weapon), 956(a)(1) (relating to conspiracy
to murder, kidnap, or maim persons abroad), 1030(a)(1)
(relating to protection of computers), 1030(a)(5)(A)(i)
resulting in damage as defined in 1030(a)(5)(B)(ii) through
(v) (relating to protection of computers), 1114 (relating to
killing or attempted killing of officers and employees of
the United States), 1116 (relating to murder or manslaughter
of foreign officials, official guests, or internationally
protected persons), 1203 (relating to hostage taking), 1362
(relating to destruction of communication lines, stations,
or systems), 1363 (relating to injury to buildings or
property within special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States), 1366(a) (relating to
destruction of an energy facility), 1751(a), (b), (c), or
(d) (relating to Presidential and Presidential staff
assassination and kidnaping), 1992 (relating to wrecking
trains), 1993 (relating to terrorist attacks and other acts
of violence against mass transportation systems), 2155
(relating to destruction of national defense materials,
premises, or utilities), 2280 (relating to violence against
maritime navigation), 2281 (relating to violence against
maritime fixed platforms), 2332 (relating to certain
homicides and other violence against United States nationals
occurring outside of the United States), 2332a (relating to
use of weapons of mass destruction), 2332b (relating to acts
of terrorism transcending national boundaries), 2332f
(relating to bombing of public places and facilities), 2339
(relating to harboring terrorists), 2339A (relating to
providing material support to terrorists), 2339B (relating
to providing material support to terrorist organizations),
2339C (relating to financing of terrorism,\2\ or 2340A
(relating to torture) of this title;
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\2\ Comma probably should be preceded by a closing parenthesis.
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(ii) section 236 (relating to sabotage of nuclear
facilities or fuel) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2284); or
(iii) section 46502 (relating to aircraft piracy), the
second sentence of section 46504 (relating to assault on a
flight crew with a dangerous weapon), section 46505(b)(3) or
(c) (relating to explosive or incendiary devices, or
endangerment of human life by means of weapons, on
aircraft), section 46506 if homicide or attempted homicide
is involved (relating to application of certain criminal
laws to acts on aircraft), or section 60123(b) (relating to
destruction of interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline
facility) of title 49.
(Added Pub. L. 104-132, title VII, Sec. 702(a), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat.
1291; amended Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 601(s)(1), (3), Oct. 11,
1996, 110 Stat. 3502; Pub. L. 107-56, title VIII, Sec. 808, Oct. 26,
2001, 115 Stat. 378; Pub. L. 107-197, title III, Sec. 301(b), June 25,
2002, 116 Stat. 728.)
References in Text
Section 1365(g)(3), referred to in subsec. (g)(3), was redesignated
section 1365(h)(3) by Pub. L. 107-307, Sec. 2(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116
Stat. 2445.
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (g)(5)(B)(i). Pub. L. 107-197 inserted ``2332f
(relating to bombing of public places and facilities),'' after ``2332b
(relating to acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries),'' and
``2339C (relating to financing of terrorism,'' after ``2339B (relating
to providing material support to terrorist organizations),''.
2001--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 808(1), inserted ``and any
violation of section 351(e), 844(e), 844(f)(1), 956(b), 1361, 1366(b),
1366(c), 1751(e), 2152, or 2156 of this title,'' before ``and the
Secretary''.
Subsec. (g)(5)(B)(i) to (iii). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 808(2), added
cls. (i) to (iii) and struck out former cls. (i) to (iii), inserting
references to sections 175b, 229, 1030, 1993, and 2339 of this title and
striking out references to 1361, 2152, 2156, 2332c of this title in cl.
(i) and inserting references to sections 46504, 46505, and 46506 of
title 49 in cl. (iii).
1996--Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 104-294, Sec. 601(s)(1), struck out
``any of the offenders uses'' before ``the mail or any facility'' and
inserted ``is used'' after ``foreign commerce''.
Subsec. (g)(5)(B)(i). Pub. L. 104-294, Sec. 601(s)(3), inserted
``930(c),'' before ``956 (relating to conspiracy to injure property of a
foreign government)'', ``1992,'' before ``2152 (relating to injury of
fortifications, harbor defenses, or defensive sea areas)'', and
``2332c,'' before ``2339A (relating to providing material support to
terrorists)''.
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 sections 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.
Territorial Sea of United States
For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No.
5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1956, 1961, 2339, 2339A,
2516, 3142, 3286, 3583 of this title; title 7 section 8401; title 20
sections 1232g, 9007, 9573; title 42 sections 262a, 14135a.
