dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

§ 2385. Advocating overthrow of GovernmentWhoever knowingly or willfully advocates,abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity,desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or de-stroying the government of the United States orthe government of any State, Territory, Districtor Possession thereof, or the government of anypolitical subdivision therein, by force or vio-lence, or by the assassination of any officer ofany such government; orWhoever, with intent to cause the overthrowor destruction of any such government, prints,publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distrib-utes, or publicly displays any written or printedmatter advocating, advising, or teaching theduty, necessity, desirability, or propriety ofoverthrowing or destroying any government inthe United States by force or violence, or at-tempts to do so; orWhoever organizes or helps or attempts to or-ganize any society, group, or assembly of per-sons who teach, advocate, or encourage theoverthrow or destruction of any such govern-ment by force or violence; or becomes or is amember of, or affiliates with, any such society,group, or assembly of persons, knowing the pur-poses thereof—Shall be fined under this title or imprisonednot more than twenty years, or both, and shallbe ineligible for employment by the UnitedStates or any department or agency thereof, forthe five years next following his conviction.If two or more persons conspire to commit anyoffense named in this section, each shall be finedunder this title or imprisoned not more thantwenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible foremployment by the United States or any depart-ment or agency thereof, for the five years nextfollowing his conviction.As used in this section, the terms ‘‘organizes’’and ‘‘organize’’, with respect to any society,group, or assembly of persons, include the re-cruiting of new members, the forming of newunits, and the regrouping or expansion of exist-ing clubs, classes, and other units of such soci-ety, group, or assembly of persons.(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808; July 24, 1956,ch. 678, § 2, 70 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 87–486, June 19,1962, 76 Stat. 103; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII,§ 330016(1)(N), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)HISTORICAL ANDREVISIONNOTESBased on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 10, 11, 13 (June 28,1940, ch. 439, title I, §§ 2, 3, 5, 54 Stat. 670, 671).Section consolidates sections 10, 11, and 13 of title 18,U.S.C., 1940 ed. Section 13 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.,which contained the punishment provisions applicableto sections 10 and 11 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., wascombined with section 11 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.,and added to this section.In first paragraph, words ‘‘the Government of theUnited States or the government of any State, Terri-tory, District or possession thereof, or the governmentof any political subdivision therein’’ were substitutedfor ‘‘any government in the United States’’.In second and third paragraphs, word ‘‘such’’ was in-serted after ‘‘any’’ and before ‘‘government’’, and words‘‘in the United States’’ which followed ‘‘government’’were omitted.In view of these changes, the provisions of subsection(b) of section 10 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., which de-fined the term ‘‘government in the United States’’ wereomitted as unnecessary.Reference to conspiracy to commit any of the prohib-ited acts was omitted as covered by the general con-spiracy provision, incorporated in section 371 of thistitle. (See reviser’s note under that section.)Words ‘‘upon conviction thereof’’ which preceded ‘‘befined’’ were omitted as surplusage, as punishment can-not be imposed until a conviction is secured.The phraseology was considerably changed to effectconsolidation but without any change of substance