18 USC § 1654 - Arming or serving on privateers | LII / Legal Information Institute

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Current through Pub. L. 112-90. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)

Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, without the limits thereof, fits out and arms, or attempts to fit out and arm or is concerned in furnishing, fitting out, or arming any private vessel of war or privateer, with intent that such vessel shall be employed to cruise or commit hostilities upon the citizens of the United States or their property; or

Whoever takes the command of or enters on board of any such vessel with such intent; or

Whoever purchases any interest in any such vessel with a view to share in the profits thereof—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

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Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, without the limits thereof, fits out and arms, or attempts to fit out and arm or is concerned in furnishing, fitting out, or arming any private vessel of war or privateer, with intent that such vessel shall be employed to cruise or commit hostilities upon the citizens of the United States or their property; or

Whoever takes the command of or enters on board of any such vessel with such intent; or

Whoever purchases any interest in any such vessel with a view to share in the profits thereof—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

Source

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 774; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(L),Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 494 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 303,35 Stat. 1147).

Reference to persons procuring or aiding was omitted as unnecessary in view of definition of “principal” in section 2 of this title.

Mandatory punishment provisions were rephrased in the alternative.

The last sentence relating to venue was omitted as unnecessary in view of the general provision to the same effect in section 3238 of this title.

Minor changes were made in phraseology and arrangement.

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000” in last par.

The table below lists the classification updates, since Jan. 7, 2011, for this section. Updates to a broader range of sections may be found at the update page for containing chapter, title, etc.

The most recent Classification Table update that we have noticed was Friday, April 6, 2012

An empty table indicates that we see no relevant changes listed in the classification tables. If you suspect that our system may be missing something, please double-check with the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

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"nt" means note.
"nt [tbl]" means note [table].
"prec" means preceding.
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"to" means a transfer to another section.
"omitted" means the section is omitted.
"repealed" means the section is repealed.
"nt ed change" and "ed change" - See the Editorial Classification Change Table [pdf].

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General Reference

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18 USC	Description of Change	Session Year	Public Law	Statutes at Large

18 USC § 1654 - Arming or serving on privateers

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