US Code

Public Law 119-87 (04/30/2026)

18 U.S.C. § 1114

Protection of officers and employees of the United States

(a)

In General .—

Whoever kills or attempts to kill any officer or employee of the United States or of any agency in any branch of the United States Government (including any member of the uniformed services) while such officer or employee is engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties, or any person assisting such an officer or employee in the performance of such duties or on account of that assistance, shall be punished—
(1)
in the case of murder, as provided under section 1111;
(2)
in the case of manslaughter, as provided under section 1112; or
(3)
in the case of attempted murder or manslaughter, as provided in section 1113.
(b)

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction .—

There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.

June 25, 1948, ch. 645 62 Stat. 756 May 24, 1949, ch. 139, § 24 63 Stat. 93 Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, § 28 65 Stat. 721 June 27, 1952, ch. 477 66 Stat. 276 Pub. L. 85–568, title III, § 304(d)72 Stat. 434 Pub. L. 87–518, § 1076 Stat. 132 Pub. L. 88–493, § 378 Stat. 610 Pub. L. 89–74, § 8(b)79 Stat. 234 Pub. L. 90–449, § 282 Stat. 611 Pub. L. 91–375, § 6(j)(9)84 Stat. 777 Pub. L. 91–513, title II, § 701(i)(1)84 Stat. 1282 Pub. L. 91–596, § 17(h)(1)84 Stat. 1607 Pub. L. 93–481, § 588 Stat. 1456 Pub. L. 94–284, § 1890 Stat. 514 Pub. L. 94–582, § 1690 Stat. 2883 Pub. L. 95–87, title VII, § 70491 Stat. 520 Pub. L. 95–616, § 3(j)(2)92 Stat. 3112 Pub. L. 95–630, title III, § 30792 Stat. 3677 Pub. L. 96–296, § 26(c)94 Stat. 819 Pub. L. 96–466, title VII, § 70494 Stat. 2216 Pub. L. 97–143, § 1(b)95 Stat. 1724 Pub. L. 97–259, title I, § 12896 Stat. 1099 Pub. L. 97–365, § 696 Stat. 1752 Pub. L. 97–452, § 2(b)96 Stat. 2478 Pub. L. 98–63, title I97 Stat. 313 Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 101298 Stat. 2142 Pub. L. 98–557, § 17(c)98 Stat. 2868 Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7026102 Stat. 4397 Pub. L. 101–73, title IX, § 962(a)(6)103 Stat. 502 Pub. L. 101–647, title XII, § 1205(h)104 Stat. 4831 Pub. L. 102–54, § 13(f)(2)105 Stat. 275 Pub. L. 102–365, § 6106 Stat. 975 Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60007108 Stat. 1971 Pub. L. 104–132, title VII, § 727(a)110 Stat. 1302 Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(f)(2)110 Stat. 3499 Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(c)(1)116 Stat. 1808 Pub. L. 117–59, § 3(3)135 Stat. 1469 (, ; , ; , ; , title IV, § 402(c), ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , title XVI, § 1606, title XXXV, § 3535, , , 4843, 4925; , , ; , , ; , title XXXIII, §§ 330009(c), 330011(g), , , 2143, 2145; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Act1948

May 18, 1934, ch. 299, § 1 48 Stat. 780 Feb. 8, 1936, ch. 40 49 Stat. 1105 June 26, 1936, ch. 830 49 Stat. 1940 53 Stat. 1433 June 13, 1940, ch. 359 54 Stat. 391 Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 253 (, ; , ; , title I, § 3, ; Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), eff. , 4 F.R. 2731, ; , ).

The section was extended to include United States judges, attorneys and their assistants, and officers of Federal, penal and correctional institutions in view of the obvious desirability of such protective legislation.

section 118 of title 18section 111 of this titleEmployees of the Bureau of Animal Industry have been included in this section to complete the revision of , U.S.C., 1940 ed., which was consolidated with the assault provisions of section 254 of said title 18 and is now . There seemed no sound reason for including such officers in the protection against assaults but excluding them from the homicide sections.

For like reasons the section was broadened to include officers or employees of the Secret Service or of the Bureau of Narcotics.

Changes in phraseology were made.

Act1949

section 1114 of title 18This section [section 24] amends , U.S.C., to conform more closely with the original statute from which it was derived.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 117–592021— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).

Pub. L. 107–273Pub. L. 104–2942002—Subsec. (b). repealed amendment by . See 1996 Amendment note below.

Pub. L. 104–132section 1113 of this title1996— reenacted section catchline without change and amended text generally, restructuring provisions by inserting par. designations and substituting reference to and general reference to killing or attempting to kill any officer or employee of any agency in any branch of United States Government for more specific references to killing or attempting to kill certain enumerated officers and employees of United States.

Pub. L. 104–294Pub. L. 107–273Subsec. (b). , which directed substitution in text of “1112,” for “1112.” and could not be executed, was repealed by . See above.

Pub. L. 103–322, § 330011(g)Pub. L. 101–647, § 16061994—, repealed . See 1990 Amendment notes below.

Pub. L. 103–322, § 330009(c), substituted “or any other officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof” for “or any other officer, agency, or employee of the United States”.

Pub. L. 103–322, § 60007, substituted “punished, in the case of murder, as provided under section 1111, or, in the case of manslaughter, as provided under section 1112.” for “punished as provided under sections 1111 and 1112 of this title,”.

Pub. L. 102–3651992— inserted “any officer or employee of the Federal Railroad Administration assigned to perform investigative, inspection, or law enforcement functions,” after “any employee of the Coast Guard assigned to perform investigative, inspection or law enforcement functions,”.

Pub. L. 102–541991— substituted “Department of Veterans Affairs” for “Veterans’ Administration”.

Pub. L. 101–647, § 3535(3)Pub. L. 101–731990—, which directed amendment of section by striking out “the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation,” could not be executed because that language had been struck out by . See 1989 Amendment note below.

Pub. L. 101–647, § 1606(3)Pub. L. 101–647, § 3535(3)Pub. L. 103–322, § 330011(g), which amended this section identically to amendment by , was repealed by . See above.

Pub. L. 101–647, § 3535(1), (2), substituted “Secret Service” for “secret service” and “any officer or employee of the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services,” for “any officer or employee of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,”.

Pub. L. 101–647, § 1606(1)Pub. L. 101–647, § 3535(1)Pub. L. 103–322, § 330011(g), (2), which amended this section identically to amendment by , (2), was repealed by . See above.

Pub. L. 101–647, § 1205(h), inserted “or any other commonwealth, territory, or possession” after “the Virgin Islands”.

Pub. L. 101–731989— struck out “the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation,” after “Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,” and substituted “the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Resolution Trust Corporation” for “the Federal Home Loan Bank Board”.

Pub. L. 100–6901988— struck out second comma after “terms of this section”.

Pub. L. 98–5571984— substituted reference to Coast Guard member, and Coast Guard employee assigned to perform investigative, inspection or law enforcement functions, for reference to any officer or enlisted man of the Coast Guard.

Pub. L. 98–473 inserted “or attempts to kill” after “Whoever kills”, substituted “or any United States probation or pretrial services officer, or any United States magistrate, or any officer or employee of any department or agency within the Intelligence Community (as defined in section 3.4(F) of Executive Order 12333, , or successor orders) not already covered under the terms of this section,” for “while engaged in the performance of his official duties or on account of the performance of his official duties”, inserted “, or any other officer, agency, or employee of the United States designated for coverage under this section in regulations issued by the Attorney General”, and inserted “, except that any such person who is found guilty of attempted murder shall be imprisoned for not more than twenty years”.

Pub. L. 98–631983— inserted “any civilian official or employee of the Army Corps of Engineers assigned to perform investigations, inspections, law or regulatory enforcement functions, or field-level real estate functions,” after “National Park Service,”.

Pub. L. 97–45231 U.S.C. 9511983— substituted “sections 3711 and 3716–3718 of title 31” for “the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 ( et seq.)”.

Pub. L. 97–36531 U.S.C. 9511982— struck out “or” before “any attorney, liquidator, examiner, claim agent” and inserted “, or any officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof designated to collect or compromise a Federal claim in accordance with the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 ( et seq.) or other statutory authority” before “shall be punished”.

Pub. L. 97–259 inserted “or any officer or employee of the Federal Communications Commission performing investigative, inspection, or law enforcement functions,” after “or law enforcement functions,”.

Pub. L. 97–1431981— inserted “any officer or member of the United States Capitol Police,” after “Drug Enforcement Administration,”.

Pub. L. 96–4661980— inserted “or any officer or employee of the Veterans’ Administration assigned to perform investigative or law enforcement functions,” after “of the Department of Agriculture assigned to perform investigative, inspection, or law enforcement functions,”.

Pub. L. 96–296 inserted “Interstate Commerce Commission,” after “Consumer Product Safety Commission,”.

Pub. L. 95–6301978— inserted “or any attorney, liquidator, examiner, claim agent, or other employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, any Federal Reserve bank, or the National Credit Union Administration engaged in or on account of the performance of his official duties” before “shall be punished”.

Pub. L. 95–616 inserted “the Department of Commerce,”.

Pub. L. 95–871977— inserted “or of the Department of the Interior” after “or of the Department of Labor”.

Pub. L. 94–5821976— struck out “any employee of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture,” after “the field service of the Bureau of Land Management,” and inserted “or of the Department of Agriculture” after “or of the Department of Labor”.

Pub. L. 94–284 inserted “, the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” after “Department of Health, Education, and Welfare”.

Pub. L. 93–4811974— substituted “Drug Enforcement Administration” for “Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs”.

Pub. L. 91–5961970— substituted “or of the Department of Labor assigned to perform investigative, inspection, or law enforcement functions”, for “designated by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to conduct investigations, or inspections under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act”.

Pub. L. 91–513 substituted “Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs” for “Bureau of Narcotics”.

Pub. L. 91–375 substituted “officer or employee of the Postal Service”, for “postal inspector, any postmaster, officer, or employee in the field service of the Post Office Department” after “Department of Justice,”.

Pub. L. 90–4491968— substituted “any postal inspector, any postmaster, officer, or employee in the field service of the Post Office Department” for “any post-office inspector”.

Pub. L. 89–741965— included any officer or employee of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare designated by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to conduct investigations or inspections under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Pub. L. 88–4931964— inserted “or any security officer of the Department of State or the Foreign Service”.

Pub. L. 87–5181962— included employees of the Department of Agriculture performing any function connected with any Federal or State program, or program of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the District of Columbia, for control, eradication, or prevention of animal diseases.

Pub. L. 85–5681958— included officers and employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

1952—Act , substituted “any immigration officers” for “any immigrant inspector or any immigration patrol inspector”.

1951—Act , substituted “the field service of the Bureau of Land Management” for “the field service of the Division of Grazing of the Department of the Interior”.

1949—Act , inserted “any officer, employee or agent of the customs or of the internal revenue or any person assisting him in the execution of his duties”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2002 Amendment

Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(c)(1)116 Stat. 1808 , , , provided that the amendment made by section 4002(c)(1) is effective .

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330011(g)108 Stat. 2145 , , , provided that the amendment made by that section is effective as of .

Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

Pub. L. 96–466, title VIII, § 802(g)(3)94 Stat. 2218 section 704 of Pub. L. 96–466, , , provided in part that the amendment made by is effective .

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Pub. L. 95–630section 2101 of Pub. L. 95–630section 375b of Title 12Amendment by effective on expiration of 120 days after , see , set out as an Effective Date note under , Banks and Banking.

Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

Pub. L. 94–582section 27 of Pub. L. 94–582section 74 of Title 7Amendment by effective 30 days after , see , as amended, set out as a note under , Agriculture.

Effective Date of 1970 Amendments

Pub. L. 91–513section 704 of Pub. L. 91–513section 801 of Title 21Amendment by effective on first day of seventh calendar month that begins after , see , set out as an Effective Date note under , Food and Drugs.

Pub. L. 91–375section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375section 101 of Title 39Amendment by effective within 1 year after , on date established therefor by Board of Governors of United States Postal Service and published by it in Federal Register, see , set out as an Effective Date note preceding , Postal Service.

Effective Date of 1965 Amendment

Pub. L. 89–74section 11 of Pub. L. 89–74Amendment by effective , see .

Savings Provision

Pub. L. 91–513section 702 of Pub. L. 91–513section 321 of Title 21Amendment by not to affect or abate any prosecutions for violation of law or any civil seizures or forfeitures and injunctive proceedings commenced prior to the effective date of such amendment, and all administrative proceedings pending before the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs on , to be continued and brought to final determination in accord with laws and regulations in effect prior to , see , set out as a note under , Food and Drugs.

Sense of Congress

Pub. L. 117–59, § 2135 Stat. 1468

“It is the sense of Congress that—
“(1)
since the founding of the Nation, officers and employees of the United States Government have dutifully and faithfully served the United States overseas, including in situations that place them at serious risk of death or bodily harm, in order to preserve, protect, and defend the interests of the United States;
“(2)
securing the safety of such officers and employees while serving overseas is of paramount importance and is also in furtherance of preserving, protecting, and defending the interests of the United States;
“(3)
section 1114 of title 18 Federal courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, have correctly interpreted , United States Code, to apply extraterritorially to protect officers and employees of the United States while the officers and employees are serving abroad;
“(4)
section 1114 of title 18 in a case involving a violent attack against Federal law enforcement officers Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila, a panel of a Federal court of appeals held that , United States Code, does not apply extraterritorially, creating a split among the United States circuit courts of appeals;
“(5)
section 1114 of title 18 in light of the opinion described in paragraph (4), it has become necessary for Congress to clarify the original intent that , United States Code, applies extraterritorially; and
“(6)
it is further appropriate to clarify the original intent that sections 111 and 115 of title 18, United States Code, apply extraterritorially as well.”
, , , provided that:

Life Imprisonment or Lesser Term for Killing Person in Performance of Investigative, Inspection, or Law Enforcement Functions

Pub. L. 91–596, § 17(h)(2)84 Stat. 1607

“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1111 and 1114 of title 18, United States Code, whoever, in violation of the provisions of section 1114 of such title, kills a person while engaged in or on account of the performance of investigative, inspection, or law enforcement functions added to such section 1114 by paragraph (1) of this subsection, and who would otherwise be subject to the penalty provisions of such section 1111 shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.”
, , , provided that:

Immunity From Criminal Prosecution

Pub. L. 88–493, § 578 Stat. 610 Pub. L. 88–493section 112 of this titlesection 112 of this title, , , which provided that nothing in , which amended this section and , and enacted former section 170e-1 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, shall create immunity from criminal prosecution under the laws of any State, territory, possession, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia, is set out as a note under .