
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC1985]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                        CHAPTER 21--CIVIL RIGHTS
 
                         SUBCHAPTER I--GENERALLY
 
Sec. 1985. Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights


(1) Preventing officer from performing duties

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire to 
prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person from accepting or 
holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United 
States, or from discharging any duties thereof; or to induce by like 
means any officer of the United States to leave any State, district, or 
place, where his duties as an officer are required to be performed, or 
to injure him in his person or property on account of his lawful 
discharge of the duties of his office, or while engaged in the lawful 
discharge thereof, or to injure his property so as to molest, interrupt, 
hinder, or impede him in the discharge of his official duties;

(2) Obstructing justice; intimidating party, witness, or juror

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire to deter, 
by force, intimidation, or threat, any party or witness in any court of 
the United States from attending such court, or from testifying to any 
matter pending therein, freely, fully, and truthfully, or to injure such 
party or witness in his person or property on account of his having so 
attended or testified, or to influence the verdict, presentment, or 
indictment of any grand or petit juror in any such court, or to injure 
such juror in his person or property on account of any verdict, 
presentment, or indictment lawfully assented to by him, or of his being 
or having been such juror; or if two or more persons conspire for the 
purpose of impeding, hindering, obstructing, or defeating, in any 
manner, the due course of justice in any State or Territory, with intent 
to deny to any citizen the equal protection of the laws, or to injure 
him or his property for lawfully enforcing, or attempting to enforce, 
the right of any person, or class of persons, to the equal protection of 
the laws;

(3) Depriving persons of rights or privileges

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire or go in 
disguise on the highway or on the premises of another, for the purpose 
of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of 
persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and 
immunities under the laws; or for the purpose of preventing or hindering 
the constituted authorities of any State or Territory from giving or 
securing to all persons within such State or Territory the equal 
protection of the laws; or if two or more persons conspire to prevent by 
force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to 
vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or 
in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector 
for President or Vice President, or as a Member of Congress of the 
United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account 
of such support or advocacy; in any case of conspiracy set forth in this 
section, if one or more persons engaged therein do, or cause to be done, 
any act in furtherance of the object of such conspiracy, whereby another 
is injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and 
exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States, the 
party so injured or deprived may have an action for the recovery of 
damages occasioned by such injury or deprivation, against any one or 
more of the conspirators.

(R.S. Sec. 1980.)

                          Codification

    R.S. Sec. 1980 derived from acts July 31, 1861, ch. 33, 12 Stat. 
284; Apr. 20, 1871, ch. 22, Sec. 2, 17 Stat. 13.
    Section was formerly classified to section 47 of Title 8, Aliens and 
Nationality.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1986, 1988 of this title; 
title 28 section 1343.
