Yes, a death threat is illegal. Under both federal and state law, seriously threatening to kill another person is a crime that can carry prison time, substantial fines, and civil liability on top of any criminal penalty. The First Amendment protects a wide range of speech, including crude and offensive statements, but it does not protect what courts call a “true threat.” Whether a specific statement crosses that line depends on the words used, the context, the speaker’s state of mind, and which statute applies.
When a Threat Crosses the Line
The constitutional benchmark is the “true threat” doctrine. In Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court defined true threats as statements where the speaker communicates a serious expression of intent to commit violence against a person or group.1Legal Information Institute. Virginia v. Black – Syllabus The speaker does not need to actually plan to follow through. What matters is whether the statement was meant to make the target fear for their safety.
The Supreme Court clarified the mental-state requirement in 2023 in Counterman v. Colorado. The government must show the speaker had some subjective awareness that their words could be viewed as threatening and delivered them anyway. This is a recklessness standard: the speaker consciously disregarded a substantial risk that the statement would be perceived as a threat of violence.2Supreme Court of the United States. Counterman v. Colorado A purely accidental or oblivious comment is not enough, but prosecutors also do not have to prove the speaker specifically intended to terrorize anyone.
Context carries enormous weight. In Watts v. United States, a young man at a Vietnam-era political rally said that if the Army drafted him, “the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J.” The Supreme Court called it crude political hyperbole rather than a true threat, pointing to the conditional phrasing, the political setting, and the fact that the crowd laughed.3Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Watts v. United States, 394 US 705 (1969) Courts still weigh the same factors today. Was the language conditional or direct? Was the audience likely to take it seriously? How specific was the threat? Could the speaker plausibly carry it out?
Something blurted out in frustration during an argument may not meet the recklessness threshold. But that is a fact-specific determination prosecutors and juries make after examining the full picture. “I was just venting” is a defense that often fails.
Federal Charges That Can Apply
Federal law reaches death threats in several specific situations, most commonly when the threat crosses state lines or targets a federal official.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 875, transmitting a threat to injure someone through any channel of interstate or foreign commerce is a federal crime carrying up to five years in prison. That covers phone calls, emails, texts, social media messages, and any other communication that travels across state or international boundaries. A separate subsection of the same statute raises the maximum to twenty years if the threat is paired with an intent to extort money or something of value.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications A death threat tied to a demand for payment can face four times the sentence of a standalone threat.
A parallel statute, 18 U.S.C. § 876, covers threatening communications sent through the U.S. mail. The penalty structure mirrors § 875: up to five years for a threat to injure, up to twenty years when the letter also demands money, and up to ten years if the mailed threat targets a federal judge or law enforcement officer.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 876 – Mailing Threatening Communications
Federal officials, judges, and federal law enforcement officers receive additional protection under 18 U.S.C. § 115. Threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder one of these officials in connection with their duties is punishable by up to ten years in prison, and the statute also reaches threats against their immediate family members.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 115 – Influencing, Impeding, or Retaliating Against a Federal Official by Threatening or Injuring a Family Member A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 871, specifically criminalizes threats against the President.
When threats are part of a pattern of harassment delivered electronically, federal cyberstalking law may apply. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A, using email, social media, or any other electronic communication service to engage in a course of conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury is a federal offense.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking This statute reaches sustained campaigns of threatening messages that do not fit the single-transmission framework of § 875.
When a death threat is motivated by the victim’s race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, federal hate crime charges can be added. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act allows sentences of up to ten years for willfully injuring or attempting to injure someone based on these characteristics, with a maximum of life in prison if the victim dies or the offense involves an attempt to kill.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts
State Criminal Threat Charges
Most death threat prosecutions actually happen at the state level. Every state has some version of a criminal threats or terroristic threats statute, though the name and elements vary. These laws generally cover threats to kill or seriously injure another person, and they apply regardless of whether the threat crossed state lines.
States differ on a few important points. Some require the victim to have been placed in sustained fear, while others focus on whether the speaker intended the statement as a threat. Classification also varies widely. The same conduct might be a misdemeanor in one state and a felony in another, depending on factors like whether the threat was directed at a specific person, whether a weapon was mentioned, and whether the target was a protected category such as a school or public official. Fines for felony-level convictions across various states generally fall in the range of $10,000 to $100,000. Many states also add their own hate crime enhancements that stack additional time on top of an underlying threat conviction.
How the Delivery Method Changes the Case
A death threat is prosecutable regardless of how it is delivered. In-person statements, handwritten letters, phone calls, text messages, emails, and social media posts or direct messages can all support a criminal charge. The method does not change whether the speech is illegal, but it does affect which statute applies and how strong the evidence will be.
Digital threats create a built-in evidence trail that frequently works against the sender. Even messages sent from anonymous accounts can be traced. Law enforcement can obtain IP addresses, account information, and metadata from service providers through subpoenas and court orders. Screenshots, server logs, and cached data often survive after a sender deletes a message. The perceived anonymity of the internet is one of the most common reasons people send threats they would never say in person, and one of the most common reasons those threats lead to convictions.
The communication method also determines whether federal jurisdiction kicks in. A face-to-face threat at a bar is almost always a state matter. An identical threat sent by text message to someone in another state potentially triggers 18 U.S.C. § 875.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications A threatening letter dropped in a mailbox invokes 18 U.S.C. § 876.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 876 – Mailing Threatening Communications The same words can land you in very different legal territory depending on how you deliver them.
Prison Time and Fines
Penalties run from relatively modest for a misdemeanor charge to severe for an aggravated federal felony. The specifics depend on the jurisdiction, the statute charged, and the surrounding circumstances.
Federal maximums vary by statute:
- Basic interstate threat under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c): up to five years in federal prison and a fine.
- Interstate threat with intent to extort under 18 U.S.C. § 875(b): up to twenty years.
- Threatening a federal official under 18 U.S.C. § 115(b)(4): up to ten years, or up to six years if the threat was limited to assault.
- Mailed threat to a federal judge or officer under 18 U.S.C. § 876(c): up to ten years.
At the state level, a criminal threat charge can be either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on how the state classifies the offense and the surrounding facts. A misdemeanor conviction generally carries up to a year in jail plus fines and possible probation. Felony convictions are more common for direct, specific death threats, and sentencing ranges are much wider. Factors that push a charge toward the higher end include repeated threats, use of a weapon, threats against children or public officials, and threats connected to domestic violence.
Civil Lawsuits on Top of Criminal Charges
Criminal charges are not the only legal consequence. The person who received the threat can also file a civil lawsuit for money damages, entirely separate from whatever the prosecutor decides to do.
Two legal theories commonly apply. The first is intentional infliction of emotional distress, which requires showing that the defendant’s conduct was outrageous and purposely or recklessly caused severe emotional harm. A death threat is a textbook example of conduct courts consider outrageous enough to support this claim.9Legal Information Institute. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress The second is civil assault, which does not require physical contact. The plaintiff only needs to show the defendant’s actions caused them to reasonably expect imminent harmful contact.
Civil cases also use a lower standard of proof than criminal prosecutions. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt; a civil case only requires a preponderance of the evidence. A person acquitted of criminal charges can still lose a civil lawsuit over the same threat. Damages can include compensation for emotional distress, therapy costs, lost wages, and in egregious cases punitive damages.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Prosecutors do not have unlimited time. Under federal law, the general statute of limitations for non-capital offenses is five years from the date the crime was committed, which applies to most federal threat charges.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3282 – Offenses Not Capital State time limits vary but typically run two to three years for misdemeanor-level threats and three to six years for felony charges.
The clock generally starts on the date the threat was communicated, not the date it was discovered. Some states toll the limitations period if the suspect flees the state or cannot be identified through reasonable diligence.
If Someone Has Threatened You
Take every death threat seriously, even if you think the person is bluffing. Do not respond or engage. Responding can escalate the situation, and with digital threats it can complicate the evidence for investigators.
If the threat is immediate and in person, get to a safe location and call 911. For threats received digitally or by mail, preserve the evidence first. Save text messages, emails, and voicemails. Screenshot social media posts and direct messages, capturing the content, the sender’s profile information, timestamps, and any surrounding context. Do not delete the original messages. If the threat came by letter, handle it as little as possible and store it in a plastic bag.
Contact your local police department to file a report and bring everything you have saved. If the threat crossed state lines or came through electronic channels from another state, mention that to the officer because it may involve federal jurisdiction. Ask for a copy of the police report number for your records.
You may also want to petition a court for a protective order, which legally prohibits the threatening person from contacting or approaching you. Courts can issue emergency orders quickly, sometimes within hours, and those remain in place until a full hearing. Longer-term orders issued after a hearing can last anywhere from several months to several years depending on the jurisdiction. Filing fees vary, and many jurisdictions waive them entirely for victims of threats or violence.