Federal- Damage to Religious Property
Statute
18 USC 247. Damage to Religious Property.
- Whoever, in any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (b) of this section--
(1) intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property, because of the religious character of
that property, or attempts to do so; or
(2) intentionally obstructs, by force or threat of force, any person in the enjoyment of that person's free exercise
of religious beliefs, or attempts to do so;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
- The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
- Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with that religious property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
- The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be--
- if death results from acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an
attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt
to kill, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both, or may
be sentenced to death;
- if bodily injury results to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or
proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section, and the violation is by means of fire or an explosive, a
fine under this title or imprisonment for not more that 40 years, or both;
- if bodily injury to any person, including any public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate
result of conduct prohibited by this section, results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if
such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, a fine
in accordance with this title and imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both; and
- in any other case, a fine in accordance with this title and imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
- No prosecution of any offense described in this section shall be undertaken by the United States except upon the notification in writing of the Attorney General or his designee that in his judgment a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.
- As used in this section, the term "religious real property" means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious cemetery, or other religious real property, including fixtures or religious objects contained within a place of religious worship .
- No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any non-capital offense under this section unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted not later than 7 years after the date on which the offense was committed.
Jury Instruction
The Defendant can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
- That the Defendant intentionally destroyed or damaged the real property described in the indictment, as charged;
- That the Defendant did so knowingly and because of the religious character of that property;
- That the offense was in or affected interstate or foreign commerce;
- That bodily injury to the person named in the indictment occurred as a direct or proximate result of the Defendant’s acts; and
- The Defendant employed fire or an explosive in committing the offense.
The term “religious property” simply means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious cemetery, or other religious property.
The requisite effect on interstate or foreign commerce can arise in a wide variety of ways, such as where the Defendant traveled into the state where the conduct occurred from another state or foreign country; or where materials to repair the damage traveled from one state into another state.
The term “bodily injury” simply means a cut, abrasion, bruise or disfigurement; or physical pain or illness; or the impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty or any other injury to the body no matter how temporary.
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