COPS Act

Summary

Increases federal criminal penalties for assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and employees by raising maximum prison terms and maximum fines. Misdemeanor jail exposure is raised from 1 year to 2 years, felony exposure is raised from 8 years to 10 years for one subdivision, and a more serious subdivision's maximum prison term is raised from 20 years to 25 years; the bill also raises the statutory fine caps (one provision shows a fine cap written as “up to $200,000” though the legislative text includes a formatting anomaly, and a more serious offense is set to carry fines up to $500,000).

• Raises misdemeanor jail maximum from 1 year to 2 years for assaulting/resisting/impeding covered officers.
• Increases one felony maximum sentence from 8 years to 10 years.
• Increases the more serious felony maximum from 20 years to 25 years.
• Establishes a statutory fine cap of up to $200,000 in one subdivision (text shows a formatting anomaly).
• Sets a fine cap of up to $500,000 for the more serious subdivision, explicitly overriding general fine limits.
• Does not change the elements of the offense—only increases statutory maximum penalties.
• Affects federal prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 111 and raises exposure for defendants facing those charges.
• Will likely increase sentencing exposure, potentially affect plea bargaining, and could raise incarceration and enforcement costs.