The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts" id="mwaA" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Alien and Sedition Acts">Sedition Act of 1798</a> becomes law in the United States making it a <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_crime" id="mwaQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Federal crime">federal crime</a> to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.<sup about="#mwt77" class="mw-ref reference" data-mw='{"name":"ref","attrs":{},"body":{"id":"mw-reference-text-cite_note-12"}}' id="cite_ref-12" rel="dc:references" typeof="mw:Extension/ref"><a href="./July_14#cite_note-12" id="mwag" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;"><span class="mw-reflink-text" id="mwaw">[12]</span></a></sup>
<span class="mw-reference-text reference-text" id="mw-reference-text-cite_note-12"><cite about="#mwt74" class="citation web cs1" id="mwBUE"><a class="external text" href="https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1700s/The-Sedition-Act-of-1798/" id="mwBUI" rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow">"The Sedition Act of 1798"</a>. <i id="mwBUM">History, Art &amp; Archives</i>. Washington, DC: United States House of Representatives. 10 July 1798<span class="reference-accessdate" id="mwBUQ">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap" id="mwBUU">3 October</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span about="#mwt74" class="Z3988" id="mwBUY" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=unknown&amp;rft.jtitle=History%2C+Art+%26+Archives&amp;rft.atitle=The+Sedition+Act+of+1798&amp;rft.date=1798-07-10&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.house.gov%2FHistorical-Highlights%2F1700s%2FThe-Sedition-Act-of-1798%2F&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJuly+14"></span></span>