18 U.S.C. § 1036
Section 1036 · Entry by false pretenses to any real property, vessel, or aircraft of the United States or secure area of any airport or seaport
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Democracy Partners v. Project Veritas Action Fund (2018)
Most recently applied in Democracy Partners v. Project Veritas Action Fund (January 2018)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Whoever, by any fraud or false pretense, enters or attempts to enter—
(1) any real property belonging in whole or in part to, or leased by, the United States;
(2) any vessel or aircraft belonging in whole or in part to, or leased by, the United States;
(3) any secure or restricted area of any seaport, designated as secure in an approved security plan, as required under section 70103 of title 46, United States Code, and the rules and regulations promulgated under that section; or
(4) any secure area of any airport,
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) of this section is—
(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if the offense is committed with the intent to commit a felony; or
(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, in any other case.
(c) As used in this section—
(1) the term “secure area” means an area access to which is restricted by the airport authority, captain of the seaport, or a public agency; and
(2) the term “airport” has the meaning given such term in section 47102 of title 49.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2006—Pub. L. 109–177, §302(a)(4), substituted “any airport or seaport” for “any airport” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 109–177, §302(a)(1), added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4).
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 109–177, §302(a)(2), substituted “10 years” for “5 years”.
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 109–177, §302(a)(3), inserted “, captain of the seaport,” after “airport authority”.