Is It Illegal to Threaten Someone in California?

Yes, it is illegal to threaten someone in California when the threat is serious enough to meet the standard set by Penal Code 422. A credible threat to kill or cause great bodily injury can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and a felony conviction counts as a strike under the Three Strikes Law and carries a lifetime firearm ban. Even threats that never result in criminal charges can support a civil harassment restraining order that restricts where the person can go and whether they can own a gun.

Not every angry remark qualifies. The law draws a specific line, and context does most of the work in deciding which side a statement falls on.

What Makes a Threat a Crime Under Penal Code 422

To convict someone of criminal threats, prosecutors must prove every one of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt:1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 422 – Criminal Threats

  • You willfully threatened to commit a crime that would result in death or great bodily injury.
  • You intended the statement to be received as a threat, whether or not you actually planned to carry it out.
  • The threat was clear, immediate, unconditional, and specific enough on its face to convey a serious intention and the ability to follow through. Vague frustration doesn’t count.
  • The person on the receiving end was placed in sustained fear for their own safety or their immediate family’s safety.
  • That fear was reasonable under the circumstances.

Courts look at the whole picture: the history between the people involved, any prior violence, tone, setting, and whether the speaker appeared able to do what they threatened. A stranger saying “I’m going to kill you” while blocking someone’s car reads very differently from a frustrated coworker muttering “I could kill him” to no one in particular.

The sustained-fear element is often where these cases turn. California courts have defined sustained fear as fear that extends beyond what is “momentary, fleeting, or transitory.”2FindLaw. People v Allen – California Court of Appeal A brief flash of alarm that passes immediately probably isn’t enough. Fear that lingers and changes how the victim behaves almost certainly is.

Threats by Text, Email, DM, and Social Media Post

Penal Code 422 is not limited to in-person confrontations. The statute expressly covers threats made verbally, in writing, or through any electronic communication device, which includes phones, computers, fax machines, and pagers.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 422 – Criminal Threats Text messages, emails, direct messages, and posts directed at a specific person are all fair game.

Electronic threats usually give prosecutors stronger evidence than spoken ones, because the exact words are preserved. Screenshots, message logs, and platform records can be subpoenaed. Deleting a text from your own phone does nothing about the copy on the recipient’s phone or with the carrier.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Counterman v. Colorado added a constitutional layer that matters most for online cases. The Court held that the First Amendment requires prosecutors to prove the defendant was at least reckless about the threatening nature of their statements, meaning the person consciously disregarded a substantial risk that their words would be understood as a threat of violence.3United States Supreme Court. Counterman v Colorado That standard comes up often when a defendant claims they were joking, venting, or quoting lyrics.

Penalties for a Criminal Threat Conviction

Criminal threats is a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony. The choice usually turns on how specific and serious the threat was, whether a weapon was involved, and the defendant’s record.

Using a deadly or dangerous weapon while making the threat adds an additional and consecutive one-year term to the sentence.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022 – Additional Punishment for Armed Felony

Three Strikes Exposure

A felony criminal threat is classified as a serious felony under Penal Code 1192.7, which makes it a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1192-7 – Serious Felonies Even when the immediate sentence is short, the strike stays on the record permanently and doubles the sentence for any future felony. A person with two prior strikes who picks up a third felony faces 25 years to life. That long-term exposure is what makes the felony-versus-misdemeanor charging decision one of the highest-stakes moments in these cases.

Firearms, Licenses, and Immigration

A felony conviction triggers an automatic lifetime ban on owning or possessing firearms under California law, and violating that ban is itself a separate felony.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 – Felon Firearm Prohibition Existing firearms must be surrendered or transferred to a licensed dealer.

A civil restraining order carries its own firearm prohibition. Under federal law, when a court issues an order after a hearing where the restrained person had notice and a chance to participate, and the order includes a finding that the person represents a credible threat to another’s physical safety, that person cannot possess any firearm or ammunition.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts This applies even if the underlying conduct was never charged as a crime.

A conviction can also reach beyond the courtroom. Licensing boards for nursing, teaching, law, real estate, and similar fields routinely review criminal records and can discipline or revoke licenses after a conviction involving violence. For non-citizens, a felony criminal threat conviction can be treated as an aggravated felony or crime of moral turpitude under federal immigration law, with consequences that may include deportation or denial of naturalization.

Common Defenses

Because every element must be proven, defenses tend to target the weakest link in the prosecution’s case:

  • The threat was too vague. “You’ll regret this” is not the same as “I’m going to break your jaw when you leave work tonight.”
  • No sustained fear. If the recipient brushed it off or laughed, or the fear passed in seconds without affecting behavior, the element fails.
  • The fear was unreasonable. A threat made by someone obviously incapable of carrying it out, or in a plainly joking tone witnessed by others, may not clear this bar.
  • Protected speech. Angry rants, political hyperbole, and artistic expression can look menacing on paper but fall within First Amendment protection. After Counterman, prosecutors must show at minimum that the speaker was reckless about how their words would be received.
  • False accusation. These charges require no physical injury or physical evidence, which makes them vulnerable to fabrication in domestic disputes, custody battles, and neighbor conflicts.

When Federal Law Can Apply

If a threat travels across state lines or through interstate channels like the internet or phone networks, federal law can apply on top of state charges. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 875, threats to kidnap or injure carry up to five years in federal prison; the same threats paired with extortion intent carry up to 20 years; threats to damage property or reputation with extortion intent carry up to two years.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications

This happens more often than people expect. A threatening DM to someone in another state, an email sent from California to a recipient in Nevada, or a voicemail routed through interstate networks can all trigger federal jurisdiction. Federal prosecutors tend to pick up these cases when the threats involve public officials, mass violence, or sustained interstate harassment.

The Civil Restraining Order Option

Not every threat results in a criminal charge, and the person being threatened doesn’t have to wait on prosecutors to act. California’s civil harassment restraining order provides a separate path through civil court when the threats come from a neighbor, coworker, acquaintance, or stranger. Threats from family members or intimate partners run through the domestic violence restraining order statute instead.

The civil standard is lower than the criminal one. The person seeking protection must show by clear and convincing evidence that harassment occurred, which the statute defines as unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing pattern of conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527-6 – Civil Harassment Prevention

An order issued after a full hearing can last up to five years and can be renewed for another five without the petitioner having to prove any new harassment occurred.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527-6 – Civil Harassment Prevention If the order has no expiration date, it defaults to three years. Violating a restraining order is itself a crime.

How to Request a Civil Harassment Restraining Order

The request starts with Form CH-100, which asks for a detailed description of the harassment, including specific dates, locations, and what was said or done. A Confidential CLETS Information form and a Notice of Court Hearing form go with it.12California Courts. Fill Out Civil Harassment Restraining Order Forms

After the forms are filed with the court clerk, a judge reviews the request. If the judge finds reasonable proof of harassment, a Temporary Restraining Order can be issued the same day and stays in place until a formal hearing, which is usually scheduled within a few weeks.

Before the hearing, someone over 18 who is not involved in the case must personally deliver the filed paperwork and the TRO to the person being restrained. Service cannot be done by mail or by the petitioner personally. A Proof of Personal Service form then goes back to the court.13California Courts. The Restraining Order Process for Civil Harassment Cases If service doesn’t happen in time, the judge will typically continue the case rather than dismiss it.

At the hearing, both sides present evidence. If the judge grants a long-term order, it can prohibit the restrained person from making contact, coming near the petitioner’s home or workplace, and possessing firearms. Documentation carries far more weight than verbal testimony alone: screenshots of threatening messages, witness statements, police reports, and a clear timeline of events.