18 U.S.C. § 1658
Plunder of distressed vessel
United States · Title 18 — CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Status: effective
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- Citation
- 18 U.S.C. § 1658, Plunder of distressed vessel, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/449300
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Full text
Whoever holds out or shows any false light, or extinguishes any true light, with intent to bring any vessel sailing upon the sea into danger or distress or shipwreck—
Shall be imprisoned not less than ten years and may be imprisoned for life.
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.
- Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994