page_title: Sedition
section_title: Civilian
hierarchical_section_title: Sedition / History in common law jurisdictions / United States / Civilian
caption_attribution_description: English: Political cartoon by Art Young depicting Jesus on a "wanted-poster". First published in The Masses in 1917.Reward. For information leading to the apprehension of —. Jesus Christ. Wanted - for sedition, criminal anarchy - vagrancy, and conspiring to overthrow the established government. Dressed poorly, said to be a carpenter by trade, ill-nourished, has visionary idea, associates with common working people the unemployed and bums. Alien - beleived to be a jew. Alias&#160;: 'Prince of peace', 'Son of man - Light of the world', &amp;c &amp;c. Professional agitator read beard, marks on hands and feet the result of injuries inflicted by an angry mob led by respectable citizens and legal authorities. Français&#160;: Dessin politique par Art Young avec Jésus Christ faisant l'objet d'un avis de recherche, première publication dans le journal The Masses en 1917.Récompense. Pour toute information permettant l'arrestation de —. Jésus Christ. Recherché - pour sédition, anarchie criminelle - vagabondage, et conspiration afin de renverser le gouvernement en place. Habillé de loques, il est dit charpentier de métier, mal nourri, tient des propos d'illuminé, s'associe avec le bas peuple, les chômeurs et les clochards. Étranger - tenu pour être un juif. Connu aussi sous les noms de&#160;: «&#160;Prince de la paix&#160;», «&#160;Fils de l'Homme - Lumière du monde&#160;», etc, etc. Agitateur professionnel à barbe rousse, aux marques sur les mains et les pieds résultant des blessures infligées par un rassemblement de personnes en colère, dirigé par de respectables citoyens et par les forces de l'ordre.
context_page_description: Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or resistance against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition.
  Typically, sedition is not considered a subversive act, and the overt acts that may be prosecutable under sedition laws vary from one legal code to another. Where the history of these legal codes has been traced, there is also a record of the change in the definition of the elements constituting sedition at certain points in history. This overview has served to develop a sociological definition of sedition as well, within the study of state persecution.
context_section_description: President John Adams signed into law the Sedition Act of 1798, which set out punishments of up to two years of imprisonment for "opposing or resisting any law of the United States" or writing or publishing "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the President or the U.S. Congress (though not the office of the Vice-President, then occupied by Adams' political opponent Thomas Jefferson). This Act of Congress was allowed to expire in 1801 after Jefferson's election to the Presidency; Jefferson pardoned those still serving sentences, and fines were repaid by the government. This law was never appealed to the United States Supreme Court (which had not yet established its right to invalidate laws passed by Congress) but opponents claimed it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
  In the Espionage Act of 1917, Section 3 made it a federal crime, punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000, to willfully spread false news of the American army or navy with an intent to disrupt its operations, to foment mutiny in their ranks, or to obstruct recruiting. This Act of Congress was amended by the Sedition Act of 1918, which expanded the scope of the Espionage Act to any statement criticizing the Government of the United States. These laws were upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1919 decisions Schenck v. United States (concerning distribution of flyers urging men to resist the draft) and Abrams v. United States (concerning leaflets urging cessation of weapons production). Schenck led to the "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater" explanation of the limits of free speech. The laws were largely repealed in 1921, leaving laws forbidding foreign espionage in the United States and allowing military censorship of sensitive material.
  In 1940, the Alien Registration Act, or "Smith Act", was passed, which made it a federal crime to advocate or to teach the desirability of overthrowing the United States Government, or to be a member of any organization which does the same. It was often used against communist party organizations. This Act was invoked in three major cases, one of which against the Socialist Worker's Party in Minneapolis in 1941, resulting in 23 convictions, and again in what became known as the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 in which a number of pro-Nazi figures were indicted but released when the prosecution ended in a mistrial. Also, a series of trials of 140 leaders of the Communist Party USA also relied upon the terms of the "Smith Act"—beginning in 1949—and lasting until 1957. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the convictions of 11 CPUSA leaders in 1951 in Dennis v. United States, that same Court reversed itself in 1957 in the case of Yates v. United States, by ruling that teaching an ideal, no matter how harmful it may seem, does not equal advocating or planning its implementation. Although unused since at least 1961, the "Smith Act" remains a Federal law.
  There was, however, a brief attempt to use the sedition laws against protesters of the Vietnam War. On 17 October 1967, two demonstrators, including then Marin County resident Al Wasserman, while engaged in a "sit-in" at the Army Induction Center in Oakland, California, were arrested and charged with sedition by deputy US. Marshal Richard St. Germain. U.S. Attorney Cecil Poole changed the charge to trespassing. Poole said, "three guys (according to Mr. Wasserman there were only 2) reaching up and touching the leg of an inductee, and that's conspiracy to commit sedition? That's ridiculous!" The inductees were in the process of physically stepping on the demonstrators as they attempted to enter the building, and the demonstrators were trying to protect themselves from the inductees' feet. Attorney Poole later added, "We'll decide what to prosecute, not marshals."
  In 1981, Oscar López Rivera, a Puerto Rican Nationalist and Vietnam war veteran, was convicted and sentenced to 70 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and various other offenses. He was among the 16 Puerto Rican nationalists offered conditional clemency by U.S. Presi
caption: Political cartoon by Art Young, The Masses, 1917.
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