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18 U.S.C. § 247 — Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** Whoever, in any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (b) of this section—
(1) intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property, because of the religious character of that property, or attempts to do so; or
(2) intentionally obstructs, by force or threat of force, including by threat of force against religious real property, any person in the enjoyment of that person’s free exercise of religious beliefs, or attempts to do so;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
**(b)** The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
**(c)** Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with that religious property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
**(d)** The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall be—
(1) if death results from acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death;
(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section, and the violation is by means of fire or an explosive, a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more that 40 years, or both;
(3) if bodily injury to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of condu
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Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-18/section-247-damage-to-religious-property-obstruction-of-persons-in-the-free-exercise--9a2d830ffb.md
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Source location: Title 18, Chapter 13, § 247; chapter-013-civil-rights.md
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**(a)** Whoever, in any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (b) of this section—
(1) intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property, because of the religious character of that property, or attempts to do so; or
(2) intentionally obstructs, by force or threat of force, including by threat of force against religious real property, any person in the enjoyment of that person’s free exercise of religious beliefs, or attempts to do so;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
**(b)** The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
**(c)** Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with that religious property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
**(d)** The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall be—
(1) if death results from acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death;
(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section, and the violation is by means of fire or an explosive, a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more that 40 years, or both;
(3) if bodily injury to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section, results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both;
(4) if damage to or destruction of property results from the acts committed in violation of this section, which damage to or destruction of such property is in an amount that exceeds $5,000, a fine in accordance with this title, imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both; and
(5) in any other case, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
**(e)** No prosecution of any offense described in this section shall be undertaken by the United States except upon the certification in writing of the Attorney General or his designee that in his judgment a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.
**(f)** As used in this section, the term “religious real property” means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious cemetery, or other religious real property, including fixtures or religious objects contained within a place of religious worship, or real property owned or leased by a nonprofit, religiously affiliated organization.
**(g)** No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any noncapital offense under this section unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted not later than 7 years after the date on which the offense was committed.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
### Statutory Notes
Section, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 684; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–596, § 8, 98 Stat. 3138, classified offenses as a felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense.
#### Effective Date of Repeal
Repeal of section effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of such repeal, see section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as an Effective Date note under [section 3551 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section3551&num=0&edition=prelim).
#### Short Title of 2026 Amendment
Pub. L. 119–73, § 1, Jan. 23, 2026, 139 Stat. 2003, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections 28 and 3771A of this title, amending [section 7102 of Title 22](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section7102&num=0&edition=prelim), Foreign Relations and Intercourse, and enacting provisions set out as notes under [section 28 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section28&num=0&edition=prelim) and [section 10110 of Title 34](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section10110&num=0&edition=prelim), Crime Control and Law Enforcement] may be cited as the ‘Trafficking Survivors Relief Act’.”
#### Short Title of 2024 Amendment
Pub. L. 118–78, § 1, July 30, 2024, 138 Stat. 1512, provided that: “This Act [enacting [section 1352 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1352&num=0&edition=prelim) and amending [section 201 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section201&num=0&edition=prelim)] may be cited as the ‘Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act’.”
Pub. L. 118–77, § 1, July
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Authority of Director; grants**
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Director shall make an annual grant from the Fund to an eligible crime victim compensation program of 75 percent of the amounts awarded during the preceding fiscal year, other than amounts awarded for property damage. Except as provided in paragraph (4), a grant under this section shall be used by such program only for awards of compensation.
(2) If the sums available in the Fund for grants under this section are insufficient to provide grants as provided in paragraph (1), the Director shall make, from the sums available, a grant to each eligible crime victim compensation program so that all such programs receive the same percentage of the amounts awarded by such program during the preceding fiscal year, other than amounts awarded for property damage.
(3) For the purposes of calculating amounts awarded in the previous fiscal year under this subsection, the Director shall not require eligible crime victim compensation programs to deduct recovery costs or collections from restitution or from subrogation for payment under a civil lawsuit.
(4) Not more than 5 percent of a grant made under this section may be used for training purposes and the administration of the State crime victim compensation program receiving the grant.
**(b) Eligible crime victim compensation programs** A crime victim compensation program is an eligible crime victim compensation program for the purposes of this section if—
(1) such program is operated by a State and offers compensation to victims and survivors of victims of criminal violence, including drunk driving and domestic violence for—
(A) medical expenses attributable to a physical injury resulting from compensable crime, including expenses for mental he
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 96
TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
§ 246
under title VIII of this Act [sections 3601 to 3619 of Title
42, The Public Health and Welfare].’’
RIOTS OR CIVIL DISTURBANCES, SUPPRESSION AND RES-
TORATION OF LAW AND ORDER; ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
AND MEMBERS
OF MILITARY
SERVICE NOT SUBJECT TO THIS SECTION
Pub. L. 90–284, title I, § 101(c), Apr. 11, 1968, 82 Stat. 75,
provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this section [enacting
this section] shall not apply to acts or omissions on the
part of law enforcement officers, members of the Na-
tional Guard, as defined in section 101(9) of title 10,
United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 101(c)(1)], members of
the organized militia of any State or the District of Co-
lumbia, not covered by such section 101(9), or members
of the Armed Forces of the United States, who are en-
gaged in suppressing a riot or civil disturbance or re-
storing law and order during a riot or civil disturb-
ance.’’
§ 246. Deprivation of relief benefits
Whoever directly or indirectly deprives, at-
tempts to deprive, or threatens to deprive any
person of any employment, position, work, com-
pensation, or other benefit provided for or made
possible in whole or in part by any Act of Con-
gress appropriating funds for work relief or re-
lief purposes, on account of political affiliation,
race, color, sex, religion, or national origin,
shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not
more than one year, or both.
(Added Pub. L. 94–453, § 4(a), Oct. 2, 1976, 90 Stat.
1517; amended Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII,
§ 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted ‘‘fined under this
title’’ for ‘‘fined not more than $10,000’’.
§ 247. Damage to religious property; obst
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