Third-degree terroristic threatening in Kentucky is a Class A misdemeanor under KRS 508.080. A person commits the offense by threatening to commit a crime likely to cause death, serious physical injury, or substantial property damage to another, or by intentionally making false statements meant to cause the evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or public transportation facility.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 508.080 – Terroristic Threatening in the Third Degree A conviction carries up to 12 months in jail.
What the State Has to Prove
The statute reaches two different kinds of conduct. The first is a threat of violence or serious property damage directed at another person. The second is an intentional false statement designed to trigger an evacuation.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 508.080 – Terroristic Threatening in the Third Degree
A few features of the law surprise most people. The threat does not have to be carried out. You do not have to be capable of carrying it out. No one has to be physically hurt. Making the threat is itself the crime. For the evacuation prong, the word “intentionally” does real work: the prosecution has to show a deliberate false statement, not an accidental scare.
Not This Statute: School Threats and WMD Claims
If the alleged threat involved a school or a claim about a weapon of mass destruction, the misdemeanor statute is not the right charge. KRS 508.075 (first degree) and KRS 508.078 (second degree) cover that conduct, and both are felonies. Second degree targets threats against schools or school functions and counterfeit WMD claims outside the first-degree locations, and is a Class D felony punishable by one to five years.2Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 508.078 – Terroristic Threatening in the Second Degree First degree covers false WMD claims at schools, government buildings, workplaces, domestic violence shelters, or any gathering of three or more people, and is a Class C felony punishable by five to ten years.3Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 508.075 – Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree Both felony statutes include an exception for someone who innocently passes along a threat they believe to be real, provided they identify the source if they know it.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 508.075 – Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree
Penalties
A Class A misdemeanor conviction carries up to 12 months in county jail.5Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.090 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor The fine can reach $500 under KRS 534.040.
On top of the fine, Kentucky imposes a mandatory $100 court cost on every criminal conviction in District Court. A judge cannot waive it unless the defendant qualifies as indigent and is unlikely to be able to pay in the foreseeable future.6Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 24A.175 – Court Costs for Criminal Cases in District Court Attorney fees, restitution if the court orders it, and lost wages from jail time or court appearances add to the real cost of a conviction.
Collateral Consequences
Federal Firearm Ban in Domestic Cases
If the person threatened was a current or former spouse, someone you share a child with, a current or former cohabitant, or a current or former dating partner, a conviction can trigger a federal firearm prohibition under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(9). Federal law bars anyone convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing any firearm or ammunition.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 922 ATF guidance treats a misdemeanor involving the threatened use of a deadly weapon against a person in one of those relationships as meeting the threshold, and for most relationship categories the ban is potentially permanent.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions Violating the federal ban carries up to 15 years in prison, well beyond anything the underlying misdemeanor can impose.
Criminal Record
A conviction creates a permanent record that appears on background checks. Employers, landlords, and licensing boards routinely screen for misdemeanors, and a charge labeled “terroristic” tends to draw extra scrutiny no matter what the underlying facts look like.
Defenses
Most third-degree cases turn on one of three arguments: the defendant did not have the required mental state, the statement was not a “true threat” under the First Amendment, or the facts support a complete defense.
Intent
The evacuation prong requires an intentional false statement. Someone who genuinely believed a threat was real and reported it has not committed the offense. On the threat prong, context matters. Sarcasm, hyperbole, or obvious jest can fall short of a “threat” if no reasonable person in the situation would have taken the words seriously.
The True Threat Standard After Counterman
The First Amendment does not protect “true threats,” but the Supreme Court raised the bar in 2023. In Counterman v. Colorado, the Court held that the government must prove the defendant at least recklessly disregarded the risk that their words would be perceived as threatening violence. A purely objective test, asking only whether a reasonable person would feel threatened, is not enough on its own.9Supreme Court of the United States. Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138
In practice, the prosecution now needs evidence that the defendant was aware their words could be taken as a threat. Someone who did not realize a statement could be read that way, because of a language barrier, a cognitive disability, or unfamiliarity with the context, has a stronger defense than they would have had a decade ago. Defense lawyers also raise artistic expression and political commentary, though courts still look at whether the surrounding context made the statement credible enough to cause real fear.
Threats Made Online
Social media and messaging platforms have reshaped these cases. A threat posted publicly can reach thousands of people quickly, and prosecutors tend to treat those cases more seriously than the same words exchanged privately. Platforms also produce a permanent record: screenshots, metadata, timestamps, and IP addresses give investigators a trail that phone calls never left behind.
That permanence works both ways. Prosecutors can point to exact wording and time-of-day. Defendants can pull the full thread to show that a line was part of a running joke, a heated back-and-forth, or a quoted lyric. The recklessness standard from Counterman matters especially online, where tone is easy to miss and sarcasm often reads as sincerity to an outside audience.
Expunging a Conviction
Kentucky allows expungement of misdemeanor convictions under KRS 431.078, but the process takes patience. You have to wait five years after completing your sentence, including probation and full payment of fines, before filing a petition.10Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 431.078 – Expungement of Misdemeanor, Violation, and Traffic Infractions
To qualify, you must meet all of the following:
- No felony or misdemeanor convictions in the five years before filing (traffic violations do not count).
- No pending felony or misdemeanor proceedings against you.
- The conviction is not a sex offense or an offense against a child, which are permanently ineligible.
- The offense is not one subject to enhancement for repeat offenses, unless the enhancement period has expired.
The filing fee is $100, with $50 going to a trust account for deputy clerks, and the fee is nonrefundable regardless of outcome.10Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 431.078 – Expungement of Misdemeanor, Violation, and Traffic Infractions If the court grants the petition, the conviction is treated as if it never occurred for most purposes, though certain government agencies retain limited access to the sealed record. For someone whose main worry is a private employer’s background check, a successful expungement removes the biggest obstacle.