1. Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to-
   1. influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding;
   2. cause or induce any person to—
      1. withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding;
      2. alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding;
      3. evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in an official proceeding; or
      4. be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned by legal process; or
   3. hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, supervised release, parole, or release pending judicial proceedings;
   shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

Jury Instruction

1. That the person described in the indictment was a witness or was scheduled to be a witness in this Court as alleged;
2. That the Defendant used intimidation, physical force, or threats against such person, as charged; and
3. That the Defendant did so knowingly and willfully with the intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of the witness.

To “intimidate” someone means to intentionally say or do something that would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities to be fearful of bodily harm. It is not necessary for the Government to prove, however, that the victim was actually frightened, and neither is it necessary to prove that the behavior of the Defendant was so violent that it was likely to cause terror, panic, or hysteria.

To act with intent to “influence” the testimony of a witness means to act for the purpose of getting the witness to change or color or shade his or her testimony in some way; but it is not necessary for the Government to prove that the witness’ testimony was, in fact, changed in any way.