Volume 132 · 3162
Public Law 115–249
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the protection of community centers with religious affiliation, and for other purposes.
Approved September 28, 2018
Statutory text
An Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the protection of community centers with religious affiliation, and for other purposes.
Sept. 28, 2018
[S. 994]
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2018”.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF COMMUNITY CENTERS WITH RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION.
Section 247 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (a)(2), by inserting after “threat of force,” the following: “including by threat of force against religious real property,”;
in subsection (d)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “or (c)” after “subsection (a)”;
in paragraph (3), by striking “and” at the end;
by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
“(4) if damage to or destruction of property results from the acts committed in violation of this section, which damage to or destruction of such property is in an amount that exceeds $5,000, a fine in accordance with this title, imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both; and”
; and
in subsection (f), by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, or real property owned or leased by a nonprofit, religiously affiliated organization”.
Approved .