49 U.S.C. § 46503
Section 46503 · Interference with security screening personnel
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case United States v. Gardenhire (2015)
Most recently applied in Rohan Ramsingh v. TSA (July 2022)
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.
An individual in an area within a commercial service airport in the United States who, by assaulting a Federal, airport, or air carrier employee who has security duties within the airport, interferes with the performance of the duties of the employee or lessens the ability of the employee to perform those duties, shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both. If the individual used a dangerous weapon in committing the assault or interference, the individual may be imprisoned for any term of years or life imprisonment.
For purposes of this section, an airport or air carrier employee who has security duties within the airport includes an airport or air carrier employee performing ticketing, check-in, baggage claim, or boarding functions.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 46503, Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1242, provided for death penalty sentencing procedure for individuals convicted of aircraft piracy, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60003(b)(2), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1970.
Amendments
2024—Pub. L. 118–63 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).