Has anyone in U.S. history been executed for sedition or related charges?

1. Legal landscape: civilian seditious conspiracy vs. military sedition

Federal civilian law currently criminalizes “seditious conspiracy” at 18 U.S.C. § 2384: two or more people who conspire to overthrow or oppose the U.S. government by force face fines or up to 20 years imprisonment ^{[1] [4]}. Multiple legal explainers and institutions repeat this definition and maximum civilian penalty, making clear that the statutory civilian maximum is not death ^{[1] [4] [3]}. By contrast, military law under the Uniform Code of Military Justice treats mutiny or sedition as potentially punishable by death, but that power has not been exercised in decades—scholars note the last U.S. military execution occurred in 1961 ^{[2] [3]}.

2. Historical use: rare prosecutions, often in wartime or political crises

Sedition charges have been used sporadically in U.S. history, often in periods of war or intense political conflict. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 enabled fines, imprisonment and deportation for certain speech-critical acts and produced prosecutions that shaped early First Amendment debate ^{[5] [6]}. During World War I, the Espionage Act and its 1918 Sedition Act amendments led to hundreds—by some counts more than a thousand—prosecutions and numerous convictions for speech and opposition tied to the war effort ^{[7] [8]}. Mid‑20th century prosecutions included actions against Puerto Rican nationalists, and scholars note activity under sedition-related statutes around World War I and in the 1950s ^[9].

3. Convictions and executions: what the record shows (and doesn’t)

Available reporting and legal summaries indicate sedition and seditious‑type prosecutions have produced convictions at various times—but there is no clear, well‑documented pattern of civilian executions for sedition in U.S. history in the provided sources. The AP and other outlets describe sedition and treason cases as rare and note fewer than a dozen treason convictions historically, but they do not report civilian executions for sedition ^[10]. The wartime Espionage/Sedition prosecutions produced many convictions and prison sentences; some sentences were later commuted or reversed ^{[7] [8]}. The sources explicitly state that civilian seditious conspiracy carries a maximum 20‑year sentence, and Reuters states “for civilians, U.S. law has no provision for a charge of sedition” separate from seditious conspiracy—underscoring that death is not a civilian statutory penalty in recent federal law cited here ^{[3] [1]}. If you are asking whether anyone was executed by the U.S. civilian justice system specifically for sedition, the materials provided do not document such an execution; they instead document imprisonment, fines, commutations, and other penalties ^{[7] [10]}.

4. Modern prosecutions and public discussion

Modern high‑profile uses of seditious conspiracy charges include prosecutions tied to violent plots and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack; legal commentators emphasize that prosecutors rarely bring sedition charges and that success requires proof of concrete plans rather than rhetoric ^{[9] [10] [11]}. FindLaw cites the indictment and conviction of Stewart Rhodes for seditious conspiracy as a recent example, illustrating that convictions can and do occur under § 2384 with prison terms rather than death ^[11]. News outlets and analysts also stress constitutional limits: speech protected by the First Amendment can complicate sedition‑style prosecutions if the government cannot show an agreement to use force ^{[10] [1]}.

5. Where reporting disagrees or leaves gaps

Sources agree that seditious conspiracy exists in federal law and carries up to 20 years prison ^{[1] [4]}, and they agree the military code can include death as a punishment though it has not been used recently ^{[2] [3]}. They diverge in emphasis: historical accounts stress heavy wartime use and mass prosecutions under Espionage/Sedition statutory regimes ^[7], while modern news coverage highlights rarity and prosecutorial caution ^{[9] [10]}. Importantly, none of the provided sources documents a civilian execution in U.S. history carried out explicitly for sedition; available sources do not mention a civilian being put to death under a sedition conviction (available sources do not mention a civilian execution for sedition).

6. Bottom line for your question

If your question is “Has anyone in U.S. history been executed for sedition or related civilian charges?” the material here does not provide evidence of a civilian execution for sedition; federal seditious conspiracy carries a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment ^{[1] [3]}. Military statutes can authorize death for mutiny or sedition under the UCMJ, but the military hasn’t executed anyone since 1961 and modern reporting places the death penalty in military—not civilian—contexts ^{[2] [3]}.