2021 Tennessee Code
Title 39 - Criminal Offenses
Chapter 13 - Offenses Against Person
Part 8 - Terrorism Prevention and Response Act of 2002
§ 39-13-803. Part Definitions

Universal Citation: TN Code § 39-13-803 (2021)

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:


  1. “Act of terrorism” means an act or acts constituting a violation of this part, any other offense under the laws of Tennessee, or an act or acts constituting an offense in any other jurisdiction within or outside the territorial boundaries of the United States that contains all of the elements constituting a violation of this part or is otherwise an offense under the laws of such jurisdiction, that is intended, directly or indirectly, to:

    1. Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

    2. Influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion; or

    3. Affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination, torture, kidnapping, or mass destruction;

  2. “Biological warfare agents” mean agents intended for use in war or other attack to cause disease or death in humans, animals, or plants that depend for their effect on multiplication within the target organism, and includes, but is not limited to, the following agents, or any analog of these agents:

    1. Bacteria
      1. Bacillus anthracis  (anthrax);

      2. Bartonella quintana  (trench fever);

      3. Brucella  species (brucellosis);

      4. Burkholderia mallei  (glanders);

      5. Burkholderia pseudomallei  (meliodosis);

      6. Franciscella tularensis  (tularaemia);

      7. Salmonella typhi  (typhoid fever);

      8. Shigella  species (shigellosis);

      9. Vibrio cholerae  (cholera);

      10. Yersinia pestis  (plague);

      11. Coxiella burnetii  (Q fever);

      12. Orientia tsutsugamushi  (scrub typhus);

      13. Rickettsia prowazeki  (typhus fever);

      14. Rickettsia rickettsii  (Rocky Mountain spotted fever);

      15. Chlamydia psittaci  (psittacosis);

      16. Clostridium botulinum  (botulism);

      17. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  (tuberculosis);

      18. Staphylococcus aureus  (staphylococcal enterotoxin B); and

      19. Escherichia coli  (E. coli);

    2. Fungi
      1. Coccidiodes immitis  (coccidioidomycosis);

      2. Histoplasma capsulata  (histoplasmosis); and

      3. Aflatoxin

    3. Viruses
      1. Hantaan/Korean haemorrhagic fever and related viruses;

      2. Sin Nombre;

      3. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever;

      4. Rift Valley fever;

      5. Ebola fever;

      6. Marburg;

      7. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis;

      8. Junin (Argentinian haemorrhagic fever);

      9. Machupo (Bolivian haemorrhagic fever);

      10. Lassa fever;

      11. Tick-borne encephalitis/Russian spring-summer encephalitis;

      12. Dengue;

      13. Yellow fever;

      14. Omsk haemorrhagic fever;

      15. Japanese encephalitis;

      16. Western equine encephalomyelitis;

      17. Eastern equine encephalomyelitis;

      18. Chikungunya;

      19. O'nyong-nyong;

      20. Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis;

      21. Variola major (smallpox);

      22. Monkey pox;

      23. White pox (variant of variola virus);

      24. Influenza; and

      25. Hantavirus;

    4. Protozoa
      1. Naeglaeria fowleri  (naegleriasis);

      2. Toxoplasma gondii  (toxoplasmosis);

      3. Schistosoma  species (bilharziasis); and

      4. Cryptosporidium parvum  (cryptosporidiosis); and

    5. Other toxins, including, but not limited to:
      1. Ricin; and

      2. Saxitoxin;

  3. “Chemical warfare agents” include, but are not limited to, the following agents, or any analog of these agents, intended for use in war or other attack to cause disease or death in humans, animals, or plants:

    1. Nerve agents, including, but not limited to:
      1. Ethyl NN- dimethylphosphoramidocyanidate (Tabun, or GA);

      2. O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (Sarin, or GB);

      3. O-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (Soman, or GD);

      4. O-cyclohexyl methylphosphonofluoridate (cyclosarin, or GF);

      5. O-ethyl S-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate (VX);

      6. O-ethyl S-2-dimethylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate (medemo); and

      7. O-isobutyl S-2-diethylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate (VR);

    2. Blood agents, including, but not limited to:
      1. Hydrogen cyanide (AC);

      2. Cyanogen chloride (CK); and

      3. Arsine (SA);

    3. Blister agents, including, but not limited to:
      1. Mustards (H, HD (sulfur mustard), HN-1, HN-2, HN-3 (nitrogen mustard));

      2. Arsenicals, including, but not limited to, Lewisite (L);

      3. Urticants, including, but not limited to, CX;

      4. Bis(2-chloroethylthioethyl) ether (agent T); and

      5. Incapacitating agents, including, but not limited to, BZ; provided, however, that “incapacitating agents” shall not include any agent, the possession of which is otherwise lawful, that is intended for use for self-defense or defense of others;

    4. Choking agents, including, but not limited to:
      1. Phosgene (CG);

      2. Diphosgene (DP); and

      3. Chloropicrin;

    5. Pesticides;

    6. Dioxins;

    7. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);

    8. Flammable industrial gases and liquids, including, but not limited to:
      1. Gasoline; and

      2. Propane; and

    9. Tear gases and other disabling chemicals, including, but not limited to:
      1. 10-chloro-5, 10-dihydrophenarsazine (adamsite, or DM);

      2. 1-chloroacetophenone (CN);

      3. a-bromophenylacetonitrile (larmine, BBC or CA);

      4. 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS);

      5. Dibenzoxazepine (CR);

      6. Oleoresin capsicum (OC); and

      7. 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ); provided, however, that “tear gases and other disabling chemicals” shall not include any agent, the possession of which is otherwise lawful, that is intended for use for self-defense or defense of others;

  4. “Designated entity” means any entity designated by the United States department of state as a foreign terrorist organization in accordance with § 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1189), or by the United States department of the treasury as a specially designated national in accordance with 31 CFR part 500;

  5. “Expert advice or assistance”:

    1. Means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical, legal or other specialized knowledge; and

    2. Does not mean legal services provided to a defendant in relation to any action brought pursuant to this part, or pursuant to federal or state law;

  6. “Financial institution” shall have the meaning provided in 31 CFR chapter X;

  7. “Material support or resources”:

    1. Means any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, transportation, and personnel; and

    2. Does not include medicine or religious materials;

  8. “Nuclear or radiological agents” includes, but is not limited to:

    1. Any explosive device designed to cause a nuclear yield, also known as an improvised nuclear device (IND);

    2. Any explosive device utilized to spread radioactive material, also known as a radiological dispersal device (RDD); and

    3. Any act or container designed to release radiological material as a weapon without an explosion, also known as a simple radiological dispersal device (SRDD);

  9. “Training” means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge;

  10. “Weapon of mass destruction” includes chemical warfare agents, biological or biologic warfare agents, weaponized agents, weaponized biological or biologic warfare agents, nuclear agents, radiological agents, or the intentional release of industrial agents as a weapon;

  11. “Weaponization” is the deliberate processing, preparation, packaging, or synthesis of any substance for use as a weapon or munition;

  12. “Weaponized agents” are those agents or substances prepared for dissemination through any explosive, thermal, pneumatic, or mechanical means; and

  13. “Weaponized biological or biologic warfare agents” include, but are not limited to, weaponized pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, yeasts, fungi, or genetically engineered pathogens, toxins, vectors, and endogenous biological regulators (EBRs).
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Tennessee may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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