Kidnapping
United States Code
Citation analytics
How this statute sits in the citation network, derived from CiteLaw's graph of published opinions.
★Landmark AuthorityTop 1% most-cited · cited by 1,773 decisions
1,773
Citing decisions
6+
Courts citing
Citations by decade
3
40
124
178
166
278
267
286
429
1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Courts citing this statute
Most recently cited by10
- 2026United States v. Hazzard 5th Cir.
- 2026United States v. Pilson 1st Cir.
- 2026United States v. Parks 2d Cir.
- 2026People v. DePape
- 2026Rivera v. United States
- 2026United States v. Pedro Silva Ochoa 11th Cir.
- 2026United States v. Anderson 10th Cir.
- 2026United States v. Jacob Montague 3rd Cir.
- 2026Borges D. Haw.
- 2026United States v. Mitchell 9th Cir.
Counts reflect decisions in the CiteLaw corpus and may lag very recent opinions.
Text
the person is willfully transported in interstate or foreign commerce, regardless of whether the person was alive when transported across a State boundary, or the offender travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any means, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in committing or in furtherance of the commission of the offense; any such act against the person is done within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; any such act against the person is done within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States as defined in section 46501 of title 49; the person is a foreign official, an internationally protected person, or an official guest as those terms are defined in section 1116(b) of this title; or the person is among those officers and employees described in section 1114 of this title and any such act against the person is done while the person is engaged in, or on account of, the performance of official duties, With respect to subsection (a)(1), above, the failure to release the victim within twenty-four hours after he shall have been unlawfully seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted, or carried away shall create a rebuttable presumption that such person has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the fact that the presumption under this section has not yet taken effect does not preclude a Federal investigation of a possible violation of this section before the 24-hour period has ended. If two or more persons conspire to violate this section and one or more of such persons do any overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life. Whoever attempts to violate subsection (a) shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than twenty years. If the victim of an offense under subsection (a) is an internationally protected person outside the United States, the United States may exercise jurisdiction over the offense if (1) the victim is a representative, officer, employee, or agent of the United States, (2) an offender is a national of the United States, or (3) an offender is afterwards found in the United States. As used in this subsection, the United States includes all areas under the jurisdiction of the United States including any of the places within the provisions of sections 5 and 7 of this title and section 46501(2) of title 49. For purposes of this subsection, the term “national of the United States” has the meaning prescribed in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)). In the course of enforcement of subsection (a)(4) and any other sections prohibiting a conspiracy or attempt to violate subsection (a)(4), the Attorney General may request assistance from any Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding. the victim of an offense under this section has not attained the age of eighteen years; and has attained such age; and a parent; a grandparent; a brother; a sister; an aunt; an uncle; or an individual having legal custody of the victim; Repealed. Pub. L. 108–21, title I, § 104(b), Apr. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 653.] As used in this section, the term “parent” does not include a person whose parental rights with respect to the victim of an offense under this section have been terminated by a final court order. Whoever unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person, except in the case of a minor by the parent thereof, when— If— the offender— is not— (Source: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 760; Aug. 6, 1956, ch. 971, 70 Stat. 1043; Pub. L. 92–539, title II, § 201, Oct. 24, 1972, 86 Stat. 1072; Pub. L. 94–467, § 4, Oct. 8, 1976, 90 Stat. 1998; Pub. L. 95–163, § 17(b)(1), Nov. 9, 1977, 91 Stat. 1286; Pub. L. 95–504, § 2(b), Oct. 24, 1978, 92 Stat. 1705; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1007, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2139; Pub. L. 99–646, §§ 36, 37(b), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3599; Pub. L. 101–647, title IV, § 401, title XXXV, § 3538, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4819, 4925; Pub. L. 103–272, § 5(e)(2), (8), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1373, 1374; Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60003(a)(6), title XXXII, §§ 320903(b), 320924, title XXXIII, § 330021, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1969, 2124, 2131, 2150; Pub. L. 104–132, title VII, § 721(f), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1299; Pub. L. 105–314, title VII, § 702, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 2987; Pub. L. 108–21, title I, § 104(b), Apr. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 653; Pub. L. 109–248, title II, § 213, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 616.))