18 U.S.C. § 2383
Section 2383 · Rebellion or insurrection
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 23 court decisions — leading case King v. United States Department of Justice (1987)
Most recently applied in Trump v. Anderson (March 2024)
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.
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §4 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §4, 35 Stat. 1088).
Word “moreover” was deleted as surplusage and minor changes were made in phraseology.
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”.
Canal Zone
Applicability of section to Canal Zone, see section 14 of this title.
Cross References
Disqualification as officers or electors of persons who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion and removal of disability, see Const. Amend. 14, §3.
Federal retirement benefits, forfeiture upon conviction of offenses under this section, see section 8312 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Forfeiture of veterans’ benefits upon conviction under this section, see section 6105 of Title 38, Veterans’ Benefits.
Officers aiding importation of books and articles containing matter advocating insurrection against the United States, see section 552 of this title.
Writings advocating insurrection declared nonmailable, see section 1717 of this title.