Sponsors (7)
The bill strengthens penalties and closes prosecutorial loopholes for vehicle- and weapon-involved assaults—boosting deterrence and tools for law enforcement—but does so by imposing mandatory minimums that raise incarceration costs, constrain judicial discretion, and risk unequal impacts on marginalized groups.
Victims of motor-vehicle-related assaults will see more certain and stronger punishments: offenders face mandatory minimum prison terms of 5, 7, or 10 years depending on injury severity.
Prosecutors and law enforcement can explicitly charge use of defective weapons, closing a loophole so dangerous-but-technical 'defective' weapons are punishable and cannot avoid enhanced penalties.
Prosecutors gain clearer statutory authority to seek much harsher penalties (up to 40 years) for assaults involving deadly or dangerous weapons, strengthening deterrence and prosecutorial tools.
Taxpayers will likely face higher long-term incarceration costs because mandatory minimums tend to increase prison populations and lengths of stay.
Defendants will have less individualized sentencing outcomes because mandatory minimums limit judges' discretion to tailor punishments for mitigating circumstances.
Marginalized communities (racial and ethnic minorities, low-income individuals) risk disproportionate harm if enhanced penalties are applied unevenly, worsening existing disparities in the criminal justice system.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires mandatory minimum prison terms when a motor vehicle is used as a weapon in assaults covered by 18 U.S.C. § 111 and clarifies defective weapons count as dangerous weapons.
Official title: Amend title 18, United States Code, to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as other Federal law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 15, 2026 by John Cornyn · Last progress January 15, 2026
Changes to federal assault law increase mandatory minimum prison terms when a motor vehicle is used as a deadly or dangerous weapon and clarifies that defective weapons count as dangerous weapons. The bill revises enhanced penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 111(b), specifying minimum terms of imprisonment depending on the severity of the victim's injury: at least 5 years for bodily injury, at least 7 years for substantial bodily injury, and at least 10 years for serious bodily injury, while keeping existing maximum penalties (a fine and/or up to 40 years). The measure focuses on assaults involving vehicles and expands previously enhanced-penalty language to include defective weapons; it raises mandatory sentencing floors for offenders convicted under the amended statutory provision, which will affect prosecutions, sentencing outcomes, and incarceration levels for covered offenses.