If your federal charging paper cites 18 U.S.C. § 111, ask counsel to identify what forceful act is alleged, who the person was, how the encounter related to official duties, and which penalty branch is charged. The section covers more than an assault on a uniformed federal agent, but an argument or the label “obstruction” alone does not establish its requirements. Preserve the charging paper and available encounter records before making a plea or other case decision.
Which conduct and person does the count identify?
Section 111(a)(1) addresses forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with a person described in § 1114 while that person is engaged in, or on account of, official duties. Section 1114 describes federal officers and employees across U.S. government branches, including uniformed-service members, and people assisting them in those duties or on account of that assistance. A person’s agency title, clothing or presence at a scene is a starting fact, not a substitute for checking the actual role, duty connection and alleged force.
The separate § 111(a)(2) route concerns forcibly assaulting or intimidating someone who formerly served as a person described in § 1114 on account of duties performed during that person’s service. It does not list all six (a)(1) conduct verbs for a former person. Ask counsel to compare the charged language with any agency or assignment records, incident reports, dispatch and body-camera material that may become available through the case, plus your own unaltered messages and timeline. A state or local employee may be covered as a person assisting a qualifying federal officer; state employment alone does not resolve that question.
Why does the alleged contact or injury matter?
The § 111 penalty provisions distinguish three conditional branches:
| Statutory condition | Authorized imprisonment maximum |
|---|---|
| The acts in violation of § 111 constitute only simple assault. | One year, a Title 18 fine, or both. |
| The acts involve physical contact with the victim of that assault or intent to commit another felony. | Eight years, a Title 18 fine, or both. |
| In committing an (a) act, the accused uses a deadly or dangerous weapon or inflicts bodily injury under subsection (b). | Twenty years, a Title 18 fine, or both. |
Subsection (b) expressly includes a weapon intended to cause death or danger that fails because of a defective component. It still requires the statutory use or bodily-injury condition; the mere presence of an object described as a weapon does not establish that branch. Nor does a charge described broadly as “impeding a federal officer” tell you which maximum applies. Counsel should check the actual count, the alleged contact or injury, medical evidence if any, video and each person’s sequence of actions. These are statutory maximums, not a prediction of the facts proved or your sentence.
Check the actual charge and preserve the encounter record
An indictment or information must state the essential facts and cite the law for each count under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7(c). A wrong or missing citation by itself does not require dismissal unless it misled and prejudiced the defendant. Compare the charging paper with the event date, alleged person and role, duty or former-duty connection, claimed force, contact, weapon and injury, and any other separately charged count. Keep original recordings and communications intact; ask counsel how to seek official video, dispatch, assignment and medical records through the case. Do not contact the alleged officer or witnesses to test an account, and follow any release or no-contact conditions.
The nearby laws address different allegations. Section 115 has its own official-or-family-member threats and acts, intent and penalty rules; § 1114 separately punishes killing or attempted killing of protected people. Their penalties cannot be substituted for a § 111 count. California Penal Code officer-assault or resisting rules are also separate from the charged federal provision.
If you face an actual § 111 charge connected to California, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can discuss the charging paper and encounter records with you. Call (800) 755-5174.