Sec. 4. Criminalizing transnational repression
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Chapter 45 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: Whoever knowingly commits an act of transnational repression shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, and if death or serious bodily injury results from the act, or if such act include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, or aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both.
Whoever attempts or conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy. Whoever knowingly commits, attempts, or conspires to commit an offense under any other section of this title at the direction of or under the control of a foreign government or official or on behalf of their proxy while engaged in and in furtherance of transnational repression shall, in addition to the punishment authorized for such offense, be subject to a sentencing enhancement of up to ten years in prison.
There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section. In this section: The term agent of a foreign government means an individual who operates subject to the direction or control of a foreign government or official. The term extrajudicial killing means an act with the intention to or in the knowledge that such act will end the life of another person, when that act is not incident to lawful sanction, public necessity, self-defense or the defense of others, or the law of armed conflict.
The term proxy means an individual acting on behalf of an agent of a foreign government. The term transnational repression means any activity by a foreign government, or an agent of a foreign government or a proxy thereof, that satisfies each of the following: The activity involves— any effort intended to coerce, harass, or digitally or physically threaten, including by force or reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury or imprisonment of a person or an immediate family member of a person, a person to take an action in the interest of a foreign government; any effort intended to harass or coerce, including by force or fear, a person to forebear from exercising their First Amendment rights or any other right guaranteed to the person by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to retaliate against a person for having exercised such a right; an extrajudicial killing; or any act intended to further the efforts specified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii).
The activity is engaged in for or in the interests of a foreign government. The activity— occurs, in whole or in part, in the United States; or is committed against— a United States person; or a person in the United States. The term United States person has the meaning given such term in section 1637(d)(10) of the Carl Levin and Howard P. Buck McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 ( 50 U.S.C. 1708(d)(10) ). The term dangerous weapon has the meaning given the term in section 930(g)(2). .
The table of sections for chapter 45 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 971. Transnational repression. . Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— in section 1956(c)(7)(D), by inserting section 971 (relating to transnational repression), before section 1005 (relating to fraudulent bank entries), ; in section 1961(1), by inserting section 971 (relating to transnational repression), before section 1028 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents), ; and in section 2516(1)— in paragraph (t), by striking or ; in paragraph (u), by striking the period and inserting ; or ; and by adding at the end the following: any violation of section 951 of title 18 (relating to agents of foreign governments); any violation of section 971 of title 18 (transnational repression); and any felony violation of section 8 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act ( 22 U.S.C. 618 ) (relating to registration of agents of foreign principals). .
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