jul 14, 1798 - Alien and Sedition Act 4. “An Act (2 Stat 596) for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,” the Sedition Act. This makes it a crime to "write, print, utter, or publish" things "false, scandalous and malicious" or to conspire “to impede the operation of any law” or to prevent an officer of the government from performing his duty; or “advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly or combination.”