Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 18 : Section 2332b


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 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)

        (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;

            (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.



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