Neutrality Act of 1794

The Neutrality Act of 1794 makes it illegal for an American citizen to wage war against any country at peace with the United States. The Act declares in part:^[1]

If any person shall within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States begin or set on foot or provide or prepare the means for any military expedition or enterprise ... against the territory or dominions of any foreign prince or state of whom the United States was at peace that person would be guilty of a misdemeanor.

The act also forbids foreign war vessels to outfit in American waters and sets a three-mile territorial limit at sea.^[2]

The act was amended several times and remains in force.^[3]

Recent applications[]

In 1981, nine men involved in Operation Red Dog were sentenced to three years in prison under the Neutrality Act; they had planned to overthrow the government of Dominica.^[4]^[5]

In the 2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation, the US government alleged after a sting operation that a group of conspirators planned to violate the Neutrality Act by overthrowing the government of Communist Laos.^[6] The United States Government has since dropped all charges against these defendants.

In May 2016 four US residents were convicted of violating the Neutrality Act for their role in the 2014 Gambian coup d'état attempt.^[7]

References[]

^ Kwakwa, Edward K. (1992). The International Law of Armed Conflict: Personal and Material Fields of Application. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 116. ISBN 0-7923-1558-8.
^ Kim, Sun Pyo (2004). Maritime Delimitation and Interim Arrangements in North East Asia. Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 225. ISBN 90-04-13669-X.
^ Application of the Neutrality Act to Official Government Activities
^ "2 Guilty in New Orleans for Plot on Dominica Invasion", The New York Times, UPI, June 21, 1981, archived from the original on 2017-10-08
^ "Klansmen Get 3-year Terms", Boston Globe, July 23, 1981
^ Weiner, Tim (2008-05-11). "Gen. Vang Pao's Last War". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
^ Johnson, Alex (2016-05-13). "Four Americans Sentenced in Failed Gambian Coup". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-03.

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