by Attorney Eric D. PuryearUS Federal law makes it a serious crime for a person to conspire with another to take certain actions against another person’s civil rights, as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 241:
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
As the above portion of the United States code makes clear, a Federal charge for Conspiracy Against Rights is a serious matter. Upon conviction, a person faces a sentence of many years in prison, or even the death penalty. As is the case with other federal crimes, the exact sentence that a person would receive if convicted depends upon the federal sentencing guidelines and the discretion of the sentencing judge.