---
type: "LegalText"
title: "18 U.S.C. § 1652"
description: "Citizens as pirates"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 18
title_name: "CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
chapter_number: "81"
chapter_name: "PIRACY AND PRIVATEERING"
section: "1652"
citation: "18 U.S.C. § 1652"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc18@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t18/s1652"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-18/usc18.xml"
source_hash: "f19bb42f1f7d547d4cdc2664d9057fed039b5f9a285d46913329a4db32b27d98"
raw_snapshot_hash: "1a1bbbbdb59e376ada4eb7ad1056fd68d396679ee7ab59f0561af15006122708"
text_hash: "6fb9a092698969ec0b88e156ffadd414e9ca727442bcc9a82c807f2daf0a408e"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 18 U.S.C. § 1652 - Citizens as pirates

## Text

Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, commits any murder or robbery, or any act of hostility against the United States, or against any citizen thereof, on the high seas, under color of any commission from any foreign prince, or state, or on pretense of authority from any person, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 774.)

## Notes

Historical and Revision NotesBased on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 495 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 304, 35 Stat. 1147). Words “Notwithstanding the pretense of such authority,” were omitted as surplusage.