Treason laws in the United States

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In the United States, there are both federal and state laws prohibiting treason.[1]

Treason is defined on the federal level in Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution as: "only in levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

Most state constitutions include similar definitions of treason, specifically limited to levying war against the state, "adhering to the enemies" of the state, or aiding the enemies of the state, and requiring two witnesses or a confession in open court.[2] Fewer than 30 people have ever been charged with treason under these laws.[3]

Federal[edit]

Definition: In Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, treason is specifically limited to levying war against the U.S., or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.[2]

Penalty: Under U.S. Code Title 18, the penalty is death,[4] or not less than five years' imprisonment (with a minimum fine of $10,000, if not sentenced to death).

Any person convicted of treason against the United States also forfeits the right to hold public office in the United States.[5]

The terms used in the definition derive from English legal tradition, specifically the Treason Act 1351. Levying war means the assembly of armed people to overthrow the government or to resist its laws.

Enemies are subjects of a foreign government that is in open hostility with the United States.[6] Treason does not distinguish between participants and accessories; all persons who rebel or intentionally give aid to hostilities are subject to the same charge.[7]

Death sentences for treason under the Constitution have been carried out in only two instances: the executions of Taos Revolt insurgents in 1847, and that of William Bruce Mumford during the Civil War.

A handful of other people convicted of the offense at the federal level – such as two militants from the Whiskey Rebellion (John Mitchell and Philip Weigel, who were both pardoned by President George Washington[8]) and several people after World War II – have mostly been pardoned or released.[9]

The last federal treason conviction to be fully upheld was that of Nazi sympathizer Herbert John Burgman in 1949.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaso..._United_States