When Is It Illegal to Threaten Someone Else?

If you’ve been charged with threats or intimidation in Connecticut, you might be wondering if the charges are valid, particularly if you didn’t follow the threats with action of any kind.

However, making a threat against someone else is illegal in numerous situations in Connecticut, whether or not the perpetrator follows through on the threat. facing accusations of criminal threats, you need to speak with a qualified criminal defense attorney to explore legal strategies.

Threat Law Basics

In Connecticut, someone may be charged with criminal threats if:

They intentionally cause or seek to put someone else in fear of impending major harm by using a physical threat
They threaten to perpetrate any violent crime with the aim of terrorizing someone else
They threaten to conduct a violent crime despite the inherent risk of doing so

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution does not protect credible threats, such as a genuine statement of intent to cause harm (141 Conn. App. 377). Under the law, terror is described as “words or acts meant to scare or to cause intense fear or apprehension in another person.” (81 Conn. App. 248).

To be deemed a real threat, there has to be convincing proof that someone issued a credible threat and the threat put the subject in imminent danger of serious bodily harm, or the reasonable fear of it. (2013 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2417).

Penalties If Convicted

Threatening someone in the first degree is charged as a felony crime, whereas threatening someone in the second degree is charged a misdemeanor. This means that threatening a person in the first degree will typically result in harsher punishments, including a jail term ranging from one to five years. Threatening a person in the second degree can result in up to one year in prison.

Potential Defenses

Potential defenses against charges of criminal threats include:

The threat wasn’t immediate or specific
The victim’s fear of your statement was unreasonable
You are being falsely accused by someone with an ulterior motive
You did not actually say anything that could be reasonably considered a threat

Get Help from a Hartford, CT Criminal Defense Lawyer Now

After being charged with a criminal offense, your reputation, record, and future are at risk. Contact experienced Hartford criminal defense attorney J. Christopher Llinas for a consultation today by dialing (860) 530-1781.

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Christopher Llinas

J. Christopher Llinas is a Connecticut criminal defense and immigration attorney with over 25 years of legal experience. He is the founder of Iron Chris Criminal Defense & Immigration, based in Middletown, CT. Chris earned his J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire School of Law) in 1997 and holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in English from Salisbury University. During law school he served as a teaching assistant for Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law, and competed in moot court and trial advocacy programs. He began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender, defending clients in felony, misdemeanor, and traffic matters. He later served as an Assistant State's Attorney, prosecuting criminal and traffic cases — giving him a firsthand understanding of how the prosecution builds its case. He has also served as a law clerk, legal aid attorney, and in-house corporate counsel before dedicating his practice to criminal defense and immigration. Chris is admitted to practice in Connecticut, Maryland, the U.S. District Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the National College of DUI Defense (NCDD), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). His practice covers DUI and OUI defense, drug charges, weapons charges, violent crimes, juvenile matters, probation violations, federal criminal defense, and immigration removal proceedings throughout Connecticut.