Seditious Conspiracy: 18 U.S.C. § 2384
18 U.S.C. § 2384 provides:
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
The statute criminalizes four categories of conduct:
(1) overthrow, put down, or destroy the U.S. government,
(2) oppose the authority of the United States,
(3) prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or,
(4) seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to its authority, among other things.
A conviction for Seditious Conspiracy is punishable by up to twenty years in prison.
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Click to Call Click to EmailAdvocating the overthrow of the US Government: 18 U.S. Code § 2385
Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government; or
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so; or
Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense named in this section, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
As used in this section, the terms “organizes” and “organize”, with respect to any society, group, or assembly of persons, include the recruiting of new members, the forming of new units, and the regrouping or expansion of existing clubs, classes, and other units of such society, group, or assembly of persons.
Rebellion or Insurrection 18 USC §2383
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Rebellion and insurrection are not defined. Instead, criminal culpability is assed to anyone who “incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto.”
This statute was written in reaction to the US Civil War and remains largely unused. It has not been charged in any of the January 6 Capitol case prosecutions.
Treason: 18 U.S.C. § 2381
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Treason has been described as the “most serious offense” that may be committed against the government. It is the only crime defined in the Constitution itself, which specifies that treason consists only of “levying War against” the United States or “adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” That definition is codified in 18 U.S.C. § 2381, which imposes fines and a minimum sentence of five years of imprisonment for treason and also authorizes the death penalty.
The Constitution permits conviction for treason only where there is a “[c]onfession in open [c]ourt,” or “testimony of two [w]itnesses to the same overt [a]ct”—an action committed in furtherance of the treason.
The Supreme Court has held that treason requires proof that the defendant “intend[ed] to betray his country.”
Treason may only be committed by those who owe allegiance to the United States—such as citizens or some temporary residents—and who breach that allegiance.
The concept of “levying war” is a “meticulously exclusive” phrase, which the Supreme Court has held applies only to conduct involving “an actual assemblage of men for the purpose of executing a treasonable design.”
