§2272. Violation of specific sections

Whoever willfully violates, attempts to violate, or conspires to violate, any provision of sections ¹ 2077, 2122, or 2131 of this title, or whoever unlawfully interferes, attempts to interfere, or conspires to interfere with any recapture or entry under section 2138 of this title, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, except that whoever commits such an offense with intent to injure the United States or with intent to secure an advantage to any foreign nation shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for life, or by imprisonment for any term of years or a fine of not more than $20,000 or both.

(Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, §222, as added Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, §1, 68 Stat. 958 ; amended Pub. L. 91–161, §§2, 3(a), Dec. 24, 1969, 83 Stat. 444 ; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 102–486, title IX, §902(a)(8), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2944 .)

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 1816(a), (b) of this title, prior to the general amendment and renumbering of act Aug. 1, 1946, by act Aug. 30, 1954.

Amendments

1969-Pub. L. 91–161 increased maximum term of imprisonment from five years to ten years for willful violation, or attempted violation of enumerated sections, and struck out applicability of death penalty for violation of same offenses committed with intent to injure the United States, or secure an advantage to any foreign nation.

Effective Date of 1969 Amendment

Section 7 of Pub. L. 91–161 provided that: "The amendments contained in sections 2 and 3 of this Act [amending this section and sections 2274 and 2276 of this title] shall apply only to offenses under sections 222, 224, 225, and 226 [this section and sections 2274, 2275, and 2276 of this title] which are committed on or after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 24, 1969]. Nothing in section 2 or 3 of this Act shall affect penalties authorized under existing law for offenses under section 222, 224, 225, or 226 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, committed prior to the date of enactment of this Act."

Transfer of Functions

Atomic Energy Commission abolished and functions transferred by sections 5814 and 5841 of this title. See also Transfer of Functions notes set out under those sections.

Cross References

Conspiracy to commit offense, see section 371 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

Federal retirement benefits, forfeiture upon conviction of offense described hereunder, see section 8312 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Forfeiture of veterans' benefits upon conviction under this section, see section 6105 of Title 38, Veterans' Benefits.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in title 5 section 8312; title 22 section 2778; title 38 section 6105.

¹ So in original. Probably should be "section".