Which is a key difference between 18 U.S.C. § 242 and § 241?

• A. Must be under color of law
• B. Can have 1 defendant
• C. Deprivation of rights protected by constitution or laws of the US
• D. Applying inconsistent punishments based on race or alien status

Answer: (B)

The main distinction is how many people can be involved in the offense. A conspiracy to deprive someone of rights (the two-or-more-person plan to injure rights) requires at least two participants, so you can’t have a single defendant charged with that conspiracy. In contrast, a single person can commit a deprivation of rights under color of law, which is what § 242 covers. So § 242 can be charged against one defendant, while § 241 inherently involves multiple defendants due to its conspiratorial nature.