Federal Kidnapping Is Not a Crime of Violence Under § 924(c)

Update (October 2026): In 2018, the Supreme Court sent Jenkins back to the Seventh Circuit to reconsider in light of Sessions v. Dimaya. Docket No. 17-97. In 2019, the Supreme Court held that the residual clause of § 924(c) is unconstitutionally vague nationwide. United States v. Davis, 588 U.S. 445 (2019). The Seventh Circuit then reinstated its ruling. United States v. Jackson, 932 F.3d 556 (7th Cir. 2019).

Federal kidnapping is not a "crime of violence," so it cannot be the basis for a separate gun conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). That was the Seventh Circuit's holding in United States v. Jenkins, and, as the update above explains, the court reached the same result again in 2019.

Antwon Jenkins was convicted of federal kidnapping and of using a firearm during a crime of violence under § 924(c). The gun charge carried a prison term that had to run on top of (consecutive to) the kidnapping sentence. On appeal, Jenkins argued that kidnapping is not a crime of violence, so his § 924(c) conviction could not stand. The Seventh Circuit agreed.

Two Ways to Be a "Crime of Violence"

Section 924(c) defines a crime of violence in two ways: the "force clause" and the "residual clause."

The Seventh Circuit had already held the residual clause unconstitutionally vague in United States v. Cardena, 842 F.3d 959, 996 (7th Cir. 2016), so kidnapping could count only under the force clause.

A crime fits the force clause if it "has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another." 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A). An "element" is something the government must prove in every case to convict.

The Holding

The court held that "kidnapping as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a) does not require the use of force as an element." The statute also covers someone who "inveigles" or "decoys" a victim, meaning tricks or lures them, which does not take force.

Because kidnapping could not support the gun charge, the court reversed Jenkins's § 924(c) conviction. See United States v. Jenkins, 849 F.3d 390 (7th Cir. 2017), No. 14-2898.

What This Means If You Are Serving a § 924(c) Sentence

If a § 924(c) conviction rests on a crime that can be committed without force, it may be open to challenge. Timing matters. A motion to vacate a federal sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 generally must be filed within one year of one of several trigger dates, such as the date the conviction became final or the date the Supreme Court recognized a new, retroactive right. 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f). Gather the judgment (the court's written order stating the conviction and sentence), the indictment, and the docket number before talking with a lawyer.

Facing a federal sentence? Book a consultation to talk it through with Brandon Sample.