18 U.S.C. § 231
Section 231 · Civil disorders
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 110 court decisions — leading case Weiler v. United States (1945)
Most recently applied in United States v. Ralph Celentano, III (January 2025)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 2101 · 5 U.S.C. § 552 · 18 U.S.C. § 232
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)(1) Whoever teaches or demonstrates to any other person the use, application, or making of any firearm or explosive or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, knowing or having reason to know or intending that the same will be unlawfully employed for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder which may in any way or degree obstruct, delay, or adversely affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce or the conduct or performance of any federally protected function; or
(2) Whoever transports or manufactures for transportation in commerce any firearm, or explosive or incendiary device, knowing or having reason to know or intending that the same will be used unlawfully in furtherance of a civil disorder; or
(3) Whoever commits or attempts to commit any act to obstruct, impede, or interfere with any fireman or law enforcement officer lawfully engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties incident to and during the commission of a civil disorder which in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or adversely affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce or the conduct or performance of any federally protected function—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(b) Nothing contained in this section shall make unlawful any act of any law enforcement officer which is performed in the lawful performance of his official duties.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000” in concluding par.
Short Title
Section 1001 of title X of Pub. L. 90–284 provided that: “This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Civil Obedience Act of 1968’.”