<?xml version="1.0"?>
<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>70242</law_id><section_number>18.2-46.3</section_number><catch_line>Recruitment of persons for criminal street gang; penalty</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>16.1-260</reference><reference>17.1-805</reference><reference>18.2-46.1</reference><reference>18.2-46.3:1</reference><reference>18.2-46.3:2</reference><reference>18.2-46.3:3</reference><reference>18.2-460</reference><reference>19.2-11.2</reference><reference>19.2-299</reference><reference>19.2-392.02</reference><reference>19.2-83.1</reference><reference>2.2-511</reference><reference>52-28.1</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="18.2">Crimes and Offenses Generally</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="4">Crimes Against the Person</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="2.1">Crimes by Gangs</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> Any person who solicits, invites, recruits, encourages or otherwise causes or attempts to cause another to actively participate in or become a member of what he knows to be a <span class="dictionary">criminal street gang</span> is guilty of a Class 1 <span class="dictionary">misdemeanor</span>. Any person age 18 years or older who solicits, invites, recruits, encourages or otherwise causes or attempts to cause a juvenile to actively participate in or become a member of what he knows to be a <span class="dictionary">criminal street gang</span> is guilty of a Class 6 <span class="dictionary">felony</span>. <a id="paragraph-253657" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/18.2-46.3/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> Any person who, in <span class="dictionary">order</span> to encourage an individual (a) to join a <span class="dictionary">criminal street gang</span>, (b) to remain as a participant in or a member of a <span class="dictionary">criminal street gang</span>, or (c) to submit to a demand made by a <span class="dictionary">criminal street gang</span> to commit a <span class="dictionary">felony</span> violation of this title, (i) uses force against the individual or a member of his family or household or (ii) threatens force against the individual or a member of his family or household, which threat would place any person in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury, is guilty of a Class 6 <span class="dictionary">felony</span>. The definition of &#x201C;family or household member&#x201D; set forth in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/16.1-228/">16.1-228</a> applies to this section. <a id="paragraph-253658" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/18.2-46.3/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>2000, c. 332; 2004, cc. 396, 435.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
