18 U.S.C. § 2261A - Stalking

• Cite as: 18 U.S.C. § 2261A

Whoever-

(1) travels in interstate or foreign commerce or is present within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or enters or leaves Indian country, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, and in the course of, or as a result of, such travel or presence engages in conduct that-

(A) places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to-

(i) that person;

(ii) an immediate family member (as defined in section 115) of that person;

(iii) a spouse or intimate partner of that person; or

(iv) the pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse of that person; or

(B) causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to a person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A); or

(2) with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, uses the mail, any interactive computer service or electronic communication service or electronic communication system of interstate commerce, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in a course of conduct that-

(A) places that person in reasonable fear of the death of or serious bodily injury to a person, a pet, a service animal, an emotional support animal, or a horse described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (1)(A); or

(B) causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to a person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A),

shall be punished as provided in section 2261(b) or section 2261B, as the case may be.

Cite as 18 U.S.C. § 2261A

Source: Added Pub. L. 104-201, div. A, title X, §1069(a), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2655; amended Pub. L. 106-386, div. B, title I, §1107(b)(1), Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1498; Pub. L. 109-162, title I, §114(a), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 2987; Pub. L. 113-4, title I, §107(b), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 77; Pub. L. 115-334, title XII, §12502(a)(1), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4982; Pub. L. 116-249, §2(c), Dec. 22, 2020, 134 Stat. 1126.