18 U.S.C. § 875
Section 875 · Interstate communications
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 590 court decisions — leading case Irizarry v. United States (2008)
Most recently applied in United States of America v. Charles Glenn (March 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (46 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 3553 · 18 U.S.C. § 876 · 28 U.S.C. § 1291
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. 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 transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any demand or request for a ransom or reward for the release of any kidnapped person, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
(b) Whoever, with intent to extort from any person, firm, association, or corporation, any money or other thing of value, transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
(c) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(d) Whoever, with intent to extort from any person, firm, association, or corporation, any money or other thing of value, transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to injure the property or reputation of the addressee or of another or the reputation of a deceased person or any threat to accuse the addressee or any other person of a crime, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §408d (May 18, 1934, ch. 300, 48 Stat. 781; May 15, 1939, ch. 133, §2, 53 Stat. 743).
Provisions as to district of trial were omitted as covered by sections 3237 and 3239 of this title.
Definition of “interstate commerce” was omitted in conformity with definitive section 10 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology and arrangement.
Amendments
1994—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(K), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(H), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(G), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $500”.
1986—Pub. L. 99–646 inserted “or foreign” after “interstate” wherever appearing.
Cross References
Venue, see section 3237 of this title.