If you threaten someone via social media or another online forum, you may face criminal charges.
Most people understand that it is against the law to threaten to hurt another person. For the most part, people do not typically go around threatening to hurt or kill others in their daily lives (although it does still happen!). Yet in the age of the internet, people appear to be more willing to make threats against others. This may be because it is easier to do so when you are typing than when you are actually talking to a person, or because of the often anonymous nature of the internet. Yet what many people may not realize is that depending on the threat, you could be facing criminal charges for making these threats under California law.
As an experienced San Bernardino criminal defense lawyer will tell you, if you make a criminal threat to someone in California (such as a threat to seriously injure or kill them), you could potentially be arrested for those threats. Most people understand this when it comes to face-to-face threats, such as if you are at a bar and threaten to kill someone because you got into an argument. But this same law also applies to online threats — which means that many Californians could be in danger of arrest for threatening to seriously injure or even kill people via online communication.
The California Penal Code makes it a crime to willfully communicate a threat to another person that would result in great physical harm or death. This is known as the crime of making criminal threats. To convict you of the crime of making criminal threats, the prosecution must prove five separate things: (1) you willfully (purposefully) threatened another person with the intent of seriously injuring or killing that person; (2) the threat was made verbally, in writing, or through electronic communication; (3) you meant for your statement to be understood as a threat, regardless if you were either able to or intended to carry the threat out; (4) on its face and under the circumstances, the threat was unambiguous and there was no doubt that you intended to carry out the threat; and (5) the person you threatened reasonably feared for his or her own safety or the safety of his or her immediate family.
Importantly, the second element of this crime states that the threat can be communicated through electronic means. This means that threats made through Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or any other online, social media or other electronic communication could be prosecuted under this law. However, the threat still must meet the other elements of the crime. A knowledge San Bernardino criminal defense lawyer may be able to defend against making criminal threats charges by demonstrating that the threat was not serious and that you did not intend to carry the threat out, and that threat was ambiguous.
Making criminal threats is a “wobbler” offense, which means that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony under California law, depending on the facts of the case. If it is charged as a misdemeanor, it could result in 364 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. If it is charged as a felony, it could result by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
If you have been charged with making criminal threats, a skilled San Bernardino criminal defense lawyer can help you fight back against these charges. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to learn more about how we can help you if you have been charged with making criminal threats or another crime. Initial consultations are always free.
