What Is Felony Harassment in Washington State?

In Washington State, felony harassment is a Class C felony under RCW 9A.46.020, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The base harassment offense is a gross misdemeanor; it only becomes a felony when the threat was to kill someone, when the defendant has a qualifying prior harassment conviction, or when the person threatened was a criminal justice participant or election official acting in that role.¹

The Three Triggers That Make Harassment a Felony

The underlying conduct is the same whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony: a person knowingly threatens to cause bodily injury, damage property, physically confine someone, or do another act intended to seriously harm the victim’s health or safety, and the person threatened reasonably fears the threat will be carried out.¹ Only three circumstances lift that misdemeanor into a Class C felony.

The first is a death threat. A threat to kill the victim or anyone else is the dividing line; a threat of bodily injury alone stays at the gross misdemeanor level. The word “kill” or its equivalent is what triggers the upgrade.

The second is a qualifying prior conviction. The defendant must have a prior harassment conviction involving the same victim, the victim’s family or household members, or anyone named in an existing no-contact or no-harassment order.

The third involves the identity of the target. Threatening a criminal justice participant or an election official while that person is performing official duties, or in retaliation for an official action, converts the offense to a felony. “Criminal justice participant” is defined broadly and includes law enforcement at all levels, prosecutors, corrections and detention staff, probation and parole officers, judges, and members of the state indeterminate sentence review board, among others.²

Some things that sound like they should elevate the charge do not. Use of a weapon, the victim’s age, and the fact that the threat was delivered online do not by themselves make harassment a felony. The statute does, however, make clear that “words or conduct” includes electronic communications, so a death threat sent by text, email, or social media is treated the same as one made face to face.¹

Penalties and Sentencing

A Class C felony in Washington carries a statutory maximum of five years in a state correctional facility, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.³ Few sentences hit the ceiling. Washington uses sentencing guidelines that produce a standard range based on the seriousness level of the offense and the defendant’s criminal history score, so a first-time offender lands much lower than someone with a record of violent crimes.

Beyond prison or jail time, judges can impose community supervision, no-contact orders, mandatory treatment, and community service. Domestic violence cases often include a batterer intervention program. If the prosecution proves aggravating circumstances to a jury, the court can depart upward from the standard range.

The “True Threat” Requirement and How Defenses Work

Not every alarming statement is criminal. The First Amendment protects hyperbole, rhetoric, and heated argument when the speaker does not actually intend violence. The question in a harassment prosecution is whether the statement was a “true threat.”

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court raised the mental-state bar for threat prosecutions in Counterman v. Colorado. The Court held that the First Amendment requires the prosecution to prove the defendant had at least a reckless mental state about the threatening nature of their words, meaning the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial risk that the statement would be understood as a threat of violence. A purely objective “reasonable person” standard is no longer enough.⁴

That ruling shapes the defenses that typically appear in felony harassment cases:

The defendant did not consciously disregard the risk that the statement would be read as a threat.
The context, including a heated argument or clearly exaggerated language, shows the words were not a genuine threat.
The alleged victim did not actually fear the threat would be carried out, or any such fear was not objectively reasonable.
The defendant did not know the words or conduct would reach the alleged victim, which can matter in social media cases where the post was not directed at a particular person.

The prosecution still must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt: that the threat was made knowingly, that it fits one of the felony triggers, and that the victim’s fear was reasonable.

Factors That Can Make a Case Worse

Several things stack on top of a felony harassment charge and push total exposure higher.

Hate-Motivated Threats

Washington’s hate crime statute covers threats made because of the victim’s perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability. A hate crime offense is itself a Class C felony, so a bias-motivated death threat can produce both a felony harassment charge and a separate hate crime charge.⁵

Domestic Violence

When felony harassment occurs between family or household members or intimate partners, the domestic violence designation triggers additional consequences. A court can impose an above-standard-range sentence if the offense was part of an ongoing pattern of abuse, occurred in the sight or sound of a child under 18, or involved deliberate cruelty or intimidation.⁶ Mandatory batterer intervention is common in these cases.

Cyberstalking

If the conduct involved repeated unwanted electronic contact, prosecutors may add a cyberstalking charge under RCW 9.61.260. Cyberstalking is usually a gross misdemeanor, but it becomes a Class C felony when the perpetrator has a prior harassment-related conviction or violates a court order.⁷

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

A felony conviction creates problems long after any confinement ends. Three in particular catch people off guard.

Firearm Rights

Any felony conviction in Washington prohibits firearm possession. Restoring that right requires petitioning a superior court after at least five consecutive years in the community without any new conviction for a crime that prohibits firearm possession. The prosecuting attorney can object, and victims of the original crime are notified and may submit statements.⁸

Voting Rights

Voting rights come back automatically once you are no longer serving a sentence of total confinement under the Department of Corrections. No court petition is required, and you do not have to wait for community supervision to end. You do have to re-register.⁹

Immigration

For non-citizens, a felony harassment conviction can trigger deportation proceedings. Federal immigration law treats “crimes of violence” with a prison sentence of at least one year as aggravated felonies, and harassment involving death threats can fall into that category. Even where it does not, it may be classified as a crime involving moral turpitude, which carries its own removal risks. A non-citizen facing this charge should consult an immigration attorney alongside criminal defense counsel.

Clearing the Record

Washington allows some people with felony convictions to petition the court to vacate the conviction. For a Class C felony, the waiting period is at least five years after release from confinement or community custody, whichever is later, with no new convictions during that time. The catch is substantial: the statute bars vacating convictions for “violent offenses” and “crimes against persons.” Because felony harassment rests on threats of death or bodily harm, it may fall into one of those excluded categories, and the narrow exceptions the legislature carved out are limited to specific assault and robbery offenses without weapon or sexual motivation enhancements.¹⁰ Whether vacation is available in a particular case is worth reviewing with a defense attorney against the current classification lists.

Protection Orders Run Alongside the Criminal Case

A person who has been threatened does not have to wait for a criminal charge to seek court protection. Washington consolidated its protection order system under Chapter 7.105 RCW, which now governs antiharassment protection orders along with other protective orders. A petitioner can ask the court to prohibit the respondent from contact and from coming near them.¹¹

When felony harassment charges are filed, the criminal court typically imposes a no-contact order as a bail condition. That order runs alongside any civil protection order, and violating either one is a separate criminal offense.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9A.46.020 – Harassment
2
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.46.020 – Definition, Penalties
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Crimes Committed July 1, 1984, and After
4
Supreme Court of the United States. Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66 (2023)
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9A.36.080 – Hate Crime Offense, Definition and Criminal Penalty
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.94A.535 – Departures From the Guidelines
7
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.61.260 – Cyberstalking
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.041 – Unlawful Possession of Firearms, Restoration of Right to Possess
9
Washington State Legislature. RCW 29A.08.520 – Felony Conviction, Restoration of Voting Rights
10
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.94A.640 – Vacation of Offender’s Record of Conviction
11
Washington State Legislature. RCW 7.105.010 – Definitions