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18 USC Sec. 241
01/16/96
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TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 13 - CIVIL RIGHTS
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Sec. 241. Conspiracy against rights
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If two or more persons conspire to injure,
oppress, threaten, or
intimidate any person in any State, Territory, 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
If two or more persons go in disguise on the
highway, or on the
premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his
free
exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured -
They shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than
ten years, or both; and if death results from the 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, they shall be
fined
under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for
life,
or both, or may be sentenced to death.
-SOURCE-
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 696; Apr. 11, 1968, Pub. L.
90-284, title I, Sec. 103(a), 82 Stat. 75; Nov. 18, 1988,
Pub. L.
100-690, title VII, Sec. 7018(a), (b)(1), 102 Stat. 4396;
Sept. 13,
1994, Pub. L. 103-322, title VI, Sec. 60006(a), title XXXII,
Sec.
320103(a), 320201(a), title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(L), 108
Stat.
1970, 2109, 2113, 2147.)
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HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 51
(Mar. 4, 1909, ch.
321, Sec. 19, 35 Stat. 1092).
Clause making conspirator ineligible to hold
office was omitted
as incongruous because it attaches ineligibility to hold
office to
a person who may be a private citizen and who was convicted
of
conspiracy to violate a specific statute. There seems
to be no
reason for imposing such a penalty in the case of one
individual
crime, in view of the fact that other crimes do not carry
such a
severe consequence. The experience of the Department of
Justice is
that this unusual penalty has been an obstacle to successful
prosecutions for violations of the act.
Mandatory punishment provision was rephrased in
the alternative.
Minor changes in phraseology were made.
AMENDMENTS
1994 - Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 320201(a),
substituted ''person in
any State'' for ''inhabitant of any State'' in first par.
Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 320103(a)(1), 330016(1)(L),
amended section
identically, substituting ''They shall be fined under this
title''
for ''They shall be fined not more than $10,000'' in third
par.
Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 320103(a)(2)-(4), in third
par.,
substituted ''results from the 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, they shall be fined under this
title
or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both''
for
''results, they shall be subject to imprisonment for any term
of
years or for life''.
Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 60006(a), substituted '',
or may be
sentenced to death.'' for period at end of third par.
1988 - Pub. L. 100-690 struck out ''of citizens''
after
''rights'' in section catchline and substituted ''inhabitant
of any
State, Territory, or District'' for ''citizen'' in text.
1968 - Pub. L. 90-284 increased limitation on
fines from $5,000
to $10,000 and provided for imprisonment for any term of
years or
for life when death results.
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CROSS REFERENCES
Action for neglect to prevent, see section 1986
of Title 42, The
Public Health and Welfare.
Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United
States, see
section 371 of this title.
Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, see
section 1985 of
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.
Proceedings in vindication of civil rights, see
section 1988 of
Title 42.