![]() Treason can also refer to a more basic violation of allegiance to one’s ruler or state. Its adjective forms are treasonable and treasonous, and its noun form (e.g., a person who has committed treason) is traitor. Treason is “the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.” Section 2385 makes it a crime-punishable by fines, imprisonment, and/or being barred from federal employment-to engage in such actions as advocating, abetting, advising, or teaching anything that encourages using force to destroy or overthrow the government, including distributing materials or organizing groups to these ends. Section 2384 of Chapter 115 in Title 18 of the United States Code (which lays out federal crimes and criminal procedures) defines the crime of seditious conspiracy and Section 2385, advocating overthrow of the government.Īccording to Section 2384, a person can be fined or imprisoned for conspiring to overthrow or oppose the government by force, prevent or delay its laws by force, or take by force its property. United States law provides specific information on the crime of sedition. It comes from the Latin noun sēditiō, meaning “sedition, insurrection, mutiny.” The word is based on roots that literally mean “a going apart.” Legal definition of sedition The word sedition was first recorded in the 1300s. This use is sometimes done for rhetorical effect or when condemning authoritarian governments who are accusing, punishing, or jailing its critics or opponents as guilty of sedition. The word sedition can also more broadly refer to activities that show resistance or opposition to a government more generally. Its noun forms (e.g., someone planning sedition) are seditionist and seditionary. Sedition is the “incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government.” Its adjective form is seditious, as in seditious conspiracy. Learn more about the difference between capitol and capital. ![]() The alarming events on January 6 took place at the US Capitol building. ![]() What do each of these words mean? Are they used differently in legal contexts than they are in everyday settings? And what are the distinctions between them? But, as became plainly clear on January 6, words matter. Many journalists, political analysts, and politicians all used these very serious-and consequential-words to refer to the shocking events that occurred in the nation’s capital. On January 6, 2021, interest in the words insurrection, sedition, treason, and coup all surged on on after a mob of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building on the day Congress was set to certify the electoral vote count to confirm Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
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