{"data":{"id":"us-va/va.-code-18.2-461","jurisdiction":"us-va","citation":"Va. Code § 18.2-461","heading":"Falsely summoning or giving false reports to law-enforcement officials","body":"It shall be unlawful for any person (i) to knowingly give a false report as to the commission of any crime to any law-enforcement official with intent to mislead; (ii) to knowingly, with the intent to mislead a law-enforcement agency, cause another to give a false report to any law-enforcement official by publicly simulating a violation of Chapter 4 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) or Chapter 5 (§ 18.2-77 et seq.); or (iii) without just cause and with intent to interfere with the operations of any law-enforcement official, to call or summon any law-enforcement official by telephone or other means, including engagement or activation of an automatic emergency alarm. Violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, if a person intentionally gives a false report as to the commission of any crime to any law-enforcement official, causes another to give a false report to any law-enforcement official, or calls or summons any law-enforcement official against another person because of his race, religious conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or national origin, the person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.Code 1950, § 18.1-401; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1996, cc. 753, 815; 2019, cc. 471, 498; 2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 22.","path":["Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally","Chapter 10. Crimes Against the Administration of Justice","Article 6. Interference with Administration of Justice"],"source_url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/18.2-461/","current_through":"9/4/2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T15:14:34Z","sha256":"fd19adcdb4e0ae8d7fd07e658bef40d48b803182f152c1faf474e04798590207","source_id":"us-va","stale":true,"prev":"us-va/va.-code-18.2-460.1","next":"us-va/va.-code-18.2-461.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}