What are the maximum penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 2384 and related statutes for seditious acts?

1. What § 2384 actually says and its headline penalty

Section 2384 criminalizes an agreement by two or more persons to use force to overthrow or oppose the U.S. Government, to prevent or delay execution of U.S. law by force, or to seize U.S. property by force; the statute has long been read as a severe internal‑security provision ^{[3] [4]}. Multiple legal references and practitioner guides state plainly that a conviction under § 2384 carries a maximum of 20 years in federal prison ^{[1] [5]}.

2. How prosecutors use § 2384 alongside other statutes

In recent prosecutions (for example, cases arising from January 6, 2021), the Justice Department charged defendants with seditious conspiracy under § 2384 together with other offenses—most prominently conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1512(k)) and crimes such as unlawful entry onto restricted grounds—so defendants face stacked potential penalties across counts, not only the § 2384 maximum ^[2]. Lawfare’s coverage explains that § 2384’s sedition element makes it “special” and rare, and that prosecutors have paired it with obstruction and restricted‑grounds charges to reflect differing facets of alleged conduct ^[2].

3. How § 2384 compares to treason and other serious statutes

Treason (18 U.S.C. § 2381) remains the most serious statutory offense against the government, with mandatory minimums and potential death‑penalty exposure in some circumstances; by contrast, seditious conspiracy is treated as a serious but lesser offense with a 20‑year statutory cap ^[6]. Congressional and DOJ materials note the legal distinction: treason’s constitutional definition is narrow and rare, while § 2384 addresses conspiracies to use force short of the constitutional treason standard ^{[6] [4]}.

4. Fines, guidelines, and sentencing reality

Public guides and legal commentaries note fines and other consequences can accompany imprisonment, and court sentencing will follow the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s guidelines and judicial discretion; however, the statutory ceiling is 20 years for § 2384, which frames the outer limit even where guideline calculations or consecutive counts may increase practical exposure ^{[1] [7]}. Available sources do not provide a definitive, uniform fine amount tied specifically to every § 2384 conviction; some defense and advocacy summaries reference fines in the context of related state statutes but those vary by jurisdiction ^[5].

5. Related federal statutes and their top penalties commonly seen with sedition charges

Prosecutors commonly charge related federal offenses when alleging seditious activity. For example, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(k) has been used alongside § 2384 in indictments ^[2]. Other statutes cited in DOJ pleadings include unlawful entry onto restricted grounds and false‑statement or obstruction statutes ^{[2] [8]}. The maximum penalties for those companion counts differ—some carry single‑digit years or up to 8 years for enhanced false‑statement charges tied to terrorism definitions—so aggregate exposure depends on the particular counts in an indictment ^{[2] [8]}.

6. Enforcement, rarity, and prosecutorial strategy

Commentators and DOJ materials stress that § 2384 is rarely invoked, and its sedition element makes it distinctive; successful use typically requires careful fact patterns, which is why prosecutors typically bring it only in select matters and often alongside other charges to capture a range of alleged misconduct ^{[2] [4]}. Lawfare notes the government’s willingness to pair § 2384 with obstruction and entry charges to cover both the conspiratorial and the particular acts alleged ^[2].

Limitations and caveats: this summary relies on the provided legal texts, Justice Department synopses, and legal‑analysis pieces; available sources do not supply every statutory fine amount or an exhaustive list of related statutes and their maximum penalties in every factual context, nor do they provide post‑conviction sentencing data for all § 2384 cases ^{[3] [4] [7]}.