Witness Retaliation Can Be ACCA Predicate

US v. Allred: Allred was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 264 months under the Armed Career Criminal Act because, among other things, of a prior conviction under 18 USC 1513 for retaliation against a witness by causing bodily injury. That was in 1995. In 2016, after Johnson, Allred filed a 2255 motion arguing that his 1513 conviction was no longer a “violent felony” because it did not require the use of force. The district court agreed and resentenced Allred to 120 months in prison.

On the Government’s appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of the 2255 motion. The court first had to decide whether 1513 was a divisible statute or not. The court ultimately concluded that it was, laying out four different offenses, at least one of which (because it involves property) would clearly not be an ACCA predicate anymore. However, once that finding was made, a check of Allred’s indictment showed he was charged and convicted under the version of the offense that involved causing bodily injury. The court then looked to whether that satisfied ACCA’s force clause and concluded, based on Castleman that it did. Indirect force was enough to satisfy the clause and the offense at issue here could not be committed negligently or recklessly. Therefore, Allred still qualified for sentencing under ACCA.