18 U.S.C. § 1659
Attack to plunder vessel
United States · Title 18 — CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 18 U.S.C. § 1659, Attack to plunder vessel, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/449301
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Full text
Whoever, upon the high seas or other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, by surprise or open force, maliciously attacks or sets upon any vessel belonging to another, with an intent unlawfully to plunder the same, or to despoil any owner thereof of any moneys, goods, or merchandise laden on board thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
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 The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.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