Federal assault charges and penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 113 cover eight distinct offenses committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, with maximum prison terms running from six months for simple assault up to twenty years for assault with intent to commit murder or sexual abuse. The statute applies only in places under federal jurisdiction, such as military bases, national parks, federal buildings, U.S.-flagged vessels, and Indian country. Because these are federal cases, sentences are shaped by the federal sentencing guidelines and often exceed what state courts impose for similar conduct.
Where the Statute Applies
Section 113’s full title is “Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdiction,” and that phrase controls who can be charged. The offenses reach only conduct that occurs in the locations defined in 18 U.S.C. § 7.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined The categories that produce most cases include:
- Federal lands and buildings: military installations, national parks, federal courthouses, Veterans Affairs hospitals, post offices, and other land the federal government owns or controls under exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction.
- U.S.-flagged vessels operating in waters outside any state’s jurisdiction, and U.S.-registered aircraft flying over the high seas or waters outside state jurisdiction.
- Indian country, where the Major Crimes Act places felony assault by a Native American under federal jurisdiction, and where assaults by non-Natives against Native victims typically fall to federal authorities.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1153 – Offenses Committed Within Indian Country
If an assault happens on a federal enclave but does not fit any specific § 113 category, the Assimilative Crimes Act can pull in the surrounding state’s assault law and prosecute the conduct in federal court as though the state offense were federal.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 13 – Laws of States Adopted for Areas Within Federal Jurisdiction
One boundary worth flagging: assaults against federal officers and employees are prosecuted under a separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 111, which is not tied to any particular location and reaches conduct anywhere the victim is on duty or was targeted because of official duties.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 111 – Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers or Employees Simple assault on a federal officer carries up to one year, and up to eight years if physical contact or intent to commit another felony is involved. If the victim is a federal employee, § 111 is likely the operative statute, not § 113.
The Eight Offenses and Their Maximum Penalties
Section 113 sorts assault into eight categories, distinguished by intent, weapon use, injury, and the victim’s identity. Each has its own ceiling.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
Assault With Intent to Commit Murder or Sexual Abuse — 20 Years
The most serious category punishes an assault carried out with the specific intent to kill the victim or to commit aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse as those terms are defined elsewhere in the code. Prosecutors must prove the underlying intent; proving the assault alone is not enough.
Assault With Intent to Commit Any Other Felony — 10 Years
When the assault is committed to further a different felony, such as robbery or kidnapping, the ceiling is ten years. Both the assault and the intent to commit the underlying felony must be proven.
Assault With a Dangerous Weapon — 10 Years
An assault committed with a dangerous weapon and with intent to do bodily harm also carries up to ten years. Courts read “dangerous weapon” broadly: firearms and knives qualify, and so does any object used in a way capable of producing death or serious injury, including a vehicle, a glass bottle, or a length of pipe. Physical contact is not required; swinging or brandishing a weapon with the required intent is enough.
Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding — 1 Year
This offense covers physical contact that causes injury without a weapon and without rising to serious bodily injury. It sits between a threat and a more severe attack.
Simple Assault — 6 Months
Simple assault covers an attempted or threatened battery with no weapon and no significant injury. A credible threat placing the victim in reasonable fear of imminent harm is enough; no contact is required. The maximum doubles to one year if the victim is under 16.
Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury — 10 Years
When the assault causes serious bodily injury, the ceiling is ten years. The statute borrows the definition from 18 U.S.C. § 1365: injury involving a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a body part, organ, or mental faculty.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1365 – Tampering With Consumer Products Medical records and expert testimony usually decide whether the threshold is met. A fully healed broken bone may not qualify; lasting nerve damage or chronic pain likely does.
Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Partner, or Minor — 5 Years
This provision applies when the victim is a spouse, intimate partner, dating partner, or a person under 16, and the assault causes “substantial bodily injury.” The threshold is lower than “serious bodily injury”: temporary but significant disfigurement, or temporary but significant loss or impairment of any body part, organ, or mental ability. A badly bruised face or a sprained wrist can qualify even if it heals completely.
Strangulation or Suffocation of a Spouse, Partner, or Dating Partner — 10 Years
This offense targets strangulation or suffocation of a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner. Strangulation means intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly blocking breathing or blood flow by applying pressure to the throat or neck. Suffocation means blocking breathing by covering the mouth, nose, or both. No visible injury and no intent to kill are required, which makes the charge easier to prove than defendants often assume.
How Actual Sentences Are Set
The statutory maximum is a ceiling, not a prediction. What a defendant actually receives is driven by the federal sentencing guidelines, the fine statute, and the collateral consequences that follow any federal conviction.
Sentencing Guidelines
For aggravated assault offenses, which include most § 113 categories carrying more than a year, the guidelines set a base offense level of 14.7United States Sentencing Commission. 2024 Guidelines Manual – Chapter Two Offense Conduct For minor assault and battery, the base is 7 if the offense involved physical contact or a threatened weapon, and 4 otherwise.8United States Sentencing Commission. Annotated 2025 Chapter 2 C From there the level moves up for factors such as weapon use, degree of injury, or a vulnerable victim, and down for acceptance of responsibility or a minor role. The adjusted level combined with the defendant’s criminal history category produces the recommended range that the judge uses as a starting point.
Fines
Federal fines are set by 18 U.S.C. § 3571. For a felony, the maximum fine for an individual is $250,000. A Class A misdemeanor that does not result in death caps at $100,000. Class B and C misdemeanors top out at $5,000.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine Courts weigh the defendant’s ability to pay, the burden on the victim, and the deterrent value of the amount. Restitution for medical costs and lost wages can be ordered on top of any fine.
Supervised Release and the Firearm Ban
Prison time is usually followed by supervised release lasting several years. Standard conditions include reporting to a probation officer, travel restrictions, and a firearms prohibition, and a violation can send the defendant back to prison.
The most durable consequence is the federal firearm ban. A felony conviction, meaning any offense punishable by more than a year, triggers a lifetime prohibition on possessing firearms or ammunition. A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence carries the same ban.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A federal conviction can also affect employment eligibility, professional licensing, immigration status, and housing.
Statute of Limitations
Federal prosecutors have five years from the date of the offense to bring charges under § 113. The five-year clock in 18 U.S.C. § 3282 applies to all non-capital federal crimes, felony or misdemeanor.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3282 – Offenses Not Capital The deadline runs from the date of the conduct, not from when the offense was reported or discovered. If no indictment or information is filed within that window, the charges cannot proceed.