Can I use 18 USC § 241 or 18 USC § 242 as a defense against unlawful infringement of a Constitutional Right?

Question

When I looked these up, I was satisfied that the penalties for these crimes are pretty heavy. My reasoning for this question is that the free exercise of a constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime.

Answer 1

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18 USC § 241 is a statute targeting conspiracy. It was enacted to combat vote rigging, although it has been applied to a wide variety of cases.

18 USC § 242 adds additional penalties if the reason for depriving a person of rights was based on skin color, ethnicity, etc...