18 U.S.C. § 247 — Damage to religious property; obstruction

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; obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs (a) Whoever, in any of the circumstances re- ferred to in subsection (b) of this section— (1) intentionally defaces, damages, or de- stroys any religious real property, because of the religious character of that property, or at- tempts 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 sub- section (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 prop- erty, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d). (d) The punishment for a violation of sub- section (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, aggra- vated 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, in- cluding any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of con- duct prohibited by this section, and the viola- tion 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 prohib- ited by this section, results from the acts com- mitted in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threat- ened 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 destruc- tion of such property is in an amount that ex- ceeds $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 ob- jects contained within a place of religious wor- ship, or real property owned or leased by a non- profit, 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 in- formation is instituted not later than 7 years after the date on which the offense was com- mitted. (Added Pub. L. 100–346, § 1, June 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 644; amended Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60006(d), title XXXII, § 320103(d), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1971, 2110; Pub. L. 104–155, § 3, July 3, 1996, 110 Stat. 1392; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, §§ 601(c)(3), 605(r), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3499, 3511; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(c)(1), (e)(4), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1808, 1810; Pub. L. 115–249, § 2, Sept. 28, 2018, 132 Stat. 3162.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 115–249, § 2(1), inserted ‘‘including by threat of force against religious real property,’’ after ‘‘threat of force,’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–249, § 2(2)(A), inserted ‘‘or (c)’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (d)(4), (5). Pub. L. 115–249, § 2(2)(B)–(D), added par. (4) and redesignated former par. (4) as (5). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 115–249, § 2(3), inserted ‘‘, or real property owned or leased by a nonprofit, religiously af- filiated organization’’ before period at end. Page 97 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 248 2002—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(c)(1), repealed amendment by Pub. L. 104–294, § 605(r). See 1996 Amend- ment note below. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(e)(4), made tech- nical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 104–294, § 601(c)(3). See 1996 Amendment note below. 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(1), substituted ‘‘subsection (d)’’ for ‘‘subsection (c) of this section’’ in concluding provisions. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(3), added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: ‘‘The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that— ‘‘(1) in committing the offense, the defendant trav- els in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses a facil- ity or instrumentality of interstate or foreign com- merce in interstate or foreign commerce; and ‘‘(2) in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1), the loss resulting from the defacement, damage, or destruction is more than $10,000.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(2), added subsec. (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–294, § 605(r), which directed the substitution of ‘‘certification’’ for ‘‘notification’’ in subsec. (d), was repealed by Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(c)(1). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(2), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e). Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(4)(C), added par. (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3). Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(4)(A), (B), redesig- nated par. (2) as (3), inserted ‘‘to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate result of conduct prohibited by this sec- tion,’’ after ‘‘bodily injury’’ and substituted ‘‘20 years’’ for ‘‘ten years’’. Former par. (3) redesignated (4). Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(4)(B), redesignated par. (3) as (4). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–294, § 601(c)(3), as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, § 4002(e)(4), substituted ‘‘certification’’ for ‘‘notification’’. Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(2), redesignated subsec. (d) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(2), (5), redesignated subsec. (e) as (f), inserted ‘‘, including fixtures or reli- gious objects contained within a place of religious wor- ship’’ before the period, and substituted ‘‘religious real property’’ for ‘‘religious property’’ in two places. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–155, § 3(6), added subsec. (g). 1994—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–322, § 320103(d)(1), in- serted ‘‘from acts committed in violation of this sec- tion 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’’ after ‘‘death results’’. Pub. L. 103–322, § 60006(d), inserted ‘‘, or may be sen- tenced to death’’ after ‘‘or both’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 103–322, § 320103(d)(2), struck out ‘‘serious’’ before ‘‘bodily’’ and inserted ‘‘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’’ after ‘‘injury re- sults’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–322, § 320103(d)(3), amended subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (e) read as follows: ‘‘As used in this section— ‘‘(1) the term ‘religious real property’ means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious cemetery, or other religious real property; and ‘‘(2) the term ‘serious bodily injury’ means bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, un- consciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impair- ment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(c)(1), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1808, provided that the amendment made by section 4002(c)(1) is effective Oct. 11, 1996. Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(e)(4), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1810, provided that the amendment made by section 4002(e)(4) is effective Oct. 11, 1996. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS Pub. L. 104–155, § 2, July 3, 1996, 110 Stat. 1392, pro- vided that: ‘‘The Congress finds the following: ‘‘(1) The incidence of arson or other destruction or vandalism of places of religious worship, and the inci- dence of violent interference with an individual’s lawful exercise or attempted exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship pose a serious national problem. ‘‘(2) The incidence of arson of places of religious worship has recently increased, especially in the con- text of places of religious worship that serve pre- dominantly African-American congregations. ‘‘(3) Changes in Federal law are necessary to deal properly with this problem. ‘‘(4) Although local jurisdictions have attempted to respond to the challenges posed by such acts of de- struction or damage to religious property, the prob- lem is sufficiently serious, widespread, and interstate in scope to warrant Federal intervention to assist State and local jurisdictions. ‘‘(5) Congress has authority, pursuant to the Com- merce Clause of the Constitution, to make acts of de- struction or damage to religious property a violation of Federal law. ‘‘(6) Congress has authority, pursuant to section 2 of the 13th amendment to the Constitution, to make actions of private citizens motivated by race, color, or ethnicity that interfere with the ability of citizens to hold or use religious property without fear of at- tack, violations of Federal criminal law.’’ § 248. Freedom of access to clinic entrances (a) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—Whoever— (1) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, in- timidate or interfere with any person because that person is or has been, or in order to in- timidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or pro- viding reproductive health services; (2) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, in- timidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship; or (3) intentionally damages or destroys the property of a facility, or attempts to do so, be- cause such facility provides reproductive health services, or intentionally damages or destroys the property of a place of religious worship, shall be subject to the penalties provided in sub- section (b) and the civil remedies provided in subsection (c), except that a parent or legal guardian of a minor shall not be subject to any penalties or civil remedies under this section for such activities insofar as they are directed ex- clusively at that minor. (b) PENALTIES.—Whoever violates this section shall— (1) in the case of a first offense, be fined in accordance with this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and (2) in the case of a second or subsequent of- fense after a prior conviction under this sec- tion, be fined in accordance with this title, or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both;