Making a bomb threat is a federal felony that carries up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and the penalties for a bomb threat climb from there: hoaxes that injure or kill people can reach life imprisonment, aviation threats trigger separate criminal and civil penalties, state felony charges stack on top of federal ones, and courts must order restitution for the cost of the emergency response. The exposure continues after release through a permanent federal firearms ban and a felony record that follows you through employment, licensing, and immigration for the rest of your life.
The threat itself is the crime. No actual device has to exist, and claiming it was a joke is not a defense. Law enforcement treats every bomb threat as credible until proven otherwise, and the law assigns the same penalties to the prankster and the person who meant every word.
Federal Prison Time Under 18 U.S.C. § 844(e)
The main federal bomb threat statute, 18 U.S.C. § 844(e), makes it a felony to use any means of interstate communication (phone, mail, email, internet) to threaten to damage property or harm people with fire or explosives, or to knowingly pass along false information about an explosive device. Conviction carries up to ten years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 844 – Penalties2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
Because almost every modern communication crosses state lines (a cell call, a social media post, an email), the interstate element is satisfied by default in most cases. Prosecutors do not need to prove the defendant actually had a bomb, intended to detonate anything, or had the means to carry out the threat. The communication is the offense.
Hoax Penalties That Grow With the Harm Caused
A separate federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1038, targets people who deliberately convey false information about an explosive, chemical, or other violent threat. The baseline penalty is up to five years in prison. If someone suffers serious bodily injury as a result (for example, during a panicked evacuation), the maximum rises to twenty years. If anyone dies as a consequence of the hoax, the penalty reaches life imprisonment.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
That escalation structure is where people who assumed a fake threat was a minor matter run into real trouble. A false call at a crowded venue that triggers a stampede can turn a five-year exposure into a twenty-year exposure in the space of a few seconds, and the defendant does not need to have foreseen the injury for the enhanced penalty to apply.
Aviation Threats
Threats involving aircraft, airports, or air travel are covered by their own statute, 49 U.S.C. § 46507. Knowingly providing false information about an attempt to hijack an aircraft, place a bomb on a plane, or commit air piracy carries up to five years in federal prison, a fine, or both.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 46507 – False Information and Threats
Aviation threats also carry administrative penalties on top of criminal charges. The TSA can impose civil penalties of up to $17,062 per violation against individuals. Intentional fraud or falsification involving aviation security can draw civil penalties up to $10,230 along with a referral for criminal prosecution. These fines hit in addition to whatever a federal court orders.
State Felony Charges on Top of Federal
Every state has its own law criminalizing bomb threats, usually as a serious felony. The charge name varies by jurisdiction: terroristic threat, criminal threat, false reporting, or a dedicated bomb-threat statute. State penalties generally run from two to fifteen years in prison and fines of $4,000 to $15,000 or more, depending on the state and the facts.5Louisiana State Legislature. RS 14:40.1 – Terrorizing; Menacing
State and federal prosecution are not alternatives. The same conduct can be charged under both systems because of the dual-sovereignty doctrine, and a bomb threat that uses any interstate channel (nearly all of them) opens that door. In practice prosecutors usually coordinate rather than duplicate, but the possibility of parallel cases is real.
Restitution and Civil Liability for Response Costs
Prison time and fines are only part of the financial exposure. Federal law requires judges to order restitution for crimes of violence and property offenses. The order is mandatory, not discretionary: the court must direct the defendant to reimburse victims for property damage, lost income, and expenses from the investigation and prosecution.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes
Under § 1038, anyone who conveys false bomb information is also civilly liable to any party that incurred emergency or investigative response costs. State and local governments, fire departments, and nonprofit rescue organizations can sue to recover what they spent. The statute also requires courts to order reimbursement to fire and rescue services as part of sentencing, and that order is enforceable as a civil judgment.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
The dollar figures add up quickly. A single response can involve police, a bomb squad, K-9 units, fire crews, and emergency medical teams, along with the cost of evacuating buildings, lost business revenue, and overtime pay. Defendants have been ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution for one incident.
Collateral Consequences After the Sentence
A federal felony for a bomb threat does not end at the prison gate. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition, and both § 844(e) and § 1038 qualify.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts That ban is permanent under federal law.
The record itself creates lasting problems. A felony tied to threats of violence is a serious obstacle on background checks for employment, professional licensing, government security clearances, and admission to many educational programs. Most states restrict voting rights during incarceration, and some impose longer waiting periods. Housing applications, loan approvals, and immigration cases all become harder. For a crime that may take thirty seconds to commit, the practical fallout can reshape decades.
Penalties for Minors
A large share of bomb threats come from juveniles, often targeting schools. Juvenile court handles those cases differently than adult prosecutions, but not leniently. Minors typically face expulsion, juvenile court proceedings, probation with monitoring, mandatory counseling, and community service. In many jurisdictions a probation officer places the juvenile’s internet and phone use under ongoing supervision.
For older teenagers the exposure jumps. Most states allow juveniles accused of serious felonies to be certified and tried as adults, and bomb threats commonly qualify. A seventeen-year-old tried in adult court faces the same prison sentences, fines, and felony record as any adult defendant. Even when a case stays in juvenile court, the record follows the minor into college applications, scholarships, military enlistment, and early career decisions.
Nearly every state also has some form of parental liability law. When a minor causes property damage or triggers emergency response costs through intentional conduct like a bomb threat, parents can be held financially responsible. These statutes usually cap liability, but the caps vary widely by state and the restitution obligations run separately.
Common Misconceptions That Make the Penalties Worse
Two assumptions regularly lead people to underestimate what they are facing. The first is that a prank or hoax is somehow a lesser offense. It is not. Section 1038 was written specifically for false threats, and the disruption, fear, and diverted emergency resources count the same whether the caller was serious. Intent to joke is not a defense.
The second is that an anonymous threat is a safe one. Investigators clear these cases at a high rate. Phone calls, including those from spoofed or VoIP numbers, leave metadata that carriers can produce under subpoena. Email and social media threats carry IP addresses, account registration data, and device fingerprints. Federal law enforcement routinely obtains court orders for subscriber information, login records, and message content, and even encrypted messaging apps leave traces in account metadata, network logs, and the devices themselves.8National Institute of Justice. A Guide for Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation By the time investigators knock, the penalties above are no longer theoretical.