Global InformationThreatening government officials of the United States information
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In the United States, threatening government officials is a felony under federal law. Threatening the president of the United States is a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 871, punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment, that is investigated by the United States Secret Service.[1] Threatening other officials is a Class D or C felony, usually carrying maximum penalties of 5 or 10 years under 18 U.S.C. § 875, 18 U.S.C. § 876 and other statutes, that is investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When national boundaries are transcended by such a threat, it is considered a terrorist threat.[2]
When a threat is made against a judge, it can be considered obstruction of justice.[3] Threatening federal officials' family members is also a federal crime; in enacting the law, the Committee on the Judiciary stated that "Clearly it is a proper Federal function to respond to terrorists and other criminals who seek to influence the making of Federal policies and interfere with the administration of justice by attacking close relatives of those entrusted with these tasks."[4]
There are three elements of the offense of making an illegal threat: (i) there must be a transmission in interstate commerce; (ii) there must be a communication containing the threat; (iii) and the threat must be a threat to injure the person of another.[5] Threats can also sometimes be punished under the statutes criminalizing assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain United States Government officers or employees[6] or assassinating, kidnapping, and assaulting government officials of the United States.
United States Sentencing Guidelines take a number of factors into consideration in determining the recommended penalty, including evidence of the person's intent to carry out the threat; disruption to the government function; and the possibility of inciting others to violence.[7] There is also a 6-level official victim enhancement, which makes the recommended penalty, per the sentencing table, approximately double that which would apply if an ordinary citizen were the victim.[8] There can be many motives for making threats, including political motives or a desire to frame someone else for making the threat.[9] The person's intent can greatly affect the sentence.
In determining what constitutes a true threat, the courts hold that what must be proved is that a reasonable recipient of the communication would consider it a threat under the circumstances. Thus, a statement to a judge that "You and your family are going to die" would be regarded as a true threat, even if the defendant claimed that he meant it as a biological fact of life that everyone will die.[10] If a threat is made to multiple individuals, it may be considered to be outside of the guidelines heartland, and therefore to warrant an enhancement.[11]
- ^ "18 U.S. Code § 3559 - Sentencing classification of offenses". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ^
- ^ 18 U.S.C. § 1503
- ^ "UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.James Edward GRAY, Defendant-Appellant.; No. 86-3085.; United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit". bulk.resource.org. February 3, 1987. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ United States v. DeAndino, 958 F.2d 146 (US Ct. App. 6th Cir. 1992).
- ^ United States v. Heliczer, 373 F. 2d 241 (Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1967).
- ^ U.S.S.G. §2A6.1, archived from the original on 2010-06-18
- ^ U.S.S.G. §3A1.2, archived from the original on 2010-06-18
- ^ Howard Pankratz & Joey Bunch (March 2, 2010), "Community College of Aurora librarian charged in mail threats", The Denver Post
- ^ United States v. Teague, F3d 1310 (10th Cir. 2006).Preview warning: Page using Template:Cite court with unknown parameter "volume"
- ^ United States of America, Appellee, v. Samuel Adelman, Defendant-appellant, F.3d 84 (Feb 19, 1999).Preview warning: Page using Template:Cite court with unknown parameter "volume"