DETERRENCE Act Proposes Steeper Penalties: Adds Up to 10 Years for Crimes Linked to Foreign Governments

The DETERRENCE Act aims to add significant prison time to sentences for several serious federal crimes—including kidnapping, murder-for-hire, stalking, and assaulting federal officials—if the offense was carried out under the direction or coordination of a foreign government or its agents. Essentially, it introduces sentence enhancements specifically targeting criminal acts believed to be tied to foreign state actors.

Foreign Interference, Longer Sentences

This bill modifies existing federal laws to layer on extra penalties. Here’s the breakdown:

• Kidnapping (Sec. 2): Adds up to 10 years if the kidnapping, conspiracy, or attempt was knowingly done at the direction of or in coordination with a foreign government or agent.
• Murder-for-Hire (Sec. 3): Increases the sentence by up to 5 years, or up to 10 years if personal injury results, when the crime is linked to a foreign government or agent.
• Threatening/Injuring Federal Official's Family (Sec. 4): Adds up to 5 or 10 years, depending on the severity (assault vs. bodily injury vs. murder), if directed by a foreign government.
• Stalking (Sec. 5): Increases sentences by up to 30 months, 5 years (if serious injury/weapon/minor victim), or 10 years (if death results) when connected to a foreign government.
• Assaulting/Killing Federal Officers (Sec. 6): Adds up to 10 years if the offense was knowingly committed at the direction or coordination of a foreign government.
• Presidential/Staff Assassination, Kidnapping, Assault (Sec. 7): Adds up to 10 years for various offenses against protected individuals if knowingly linked to a foreign government.

Think of it like this: If someone is convicted of stalking under Section 2261A, they face existing penalties. If prosecutors can also prove that person was stalking because a foreign government directed them to, this Act could add extra time – potentially years – onto their sentence (Sec. 5).

The Practical Side: Proving 'Coordination'

The core trigger for these enhanced penalties across all sections is proving the crime was committed "knowingly at the direction of, or in coordination with, a foreign government or its agent." While the goal is to deter foreign powers from using criminal proxies on U.S. soil, the practical challenge lies in defining and proving "coordination." The bill itself doesn't detail what level of connection or communication constitutes coordination.

This ambiguity could become significant in court. It raises questions about how law enforcement and prosecutors will interpret and apply this standard. There's a potential concern that without clear guardrails, individuals, particularly those from immigrant communities or with ties abroad, could face heightened scrutiny or harsher penalties based on perceived or loosely defined connections, even if their actions weren't directly ordered by a foreign state. The effectiveness and fairness of the Act will likely hinge on how clearly this link can be established in practice, ensuring it targets genuine foreign state-sponsored criminal activity without overreaching.