How many years you can get for terroristic threats runs from up to one year in jail for a misdemeanor to life in federal prison when a hoax or bomb threat causes a death. Most state felony convictions fall between one and ten years, though roughly a dozen states authorize 20 years or more for the most serious threats. Federal law adds several separate statutes on top, each with its own ceiling depending on how the threat was made and what it targeted.
Where a specific case lands in that range depends on the charging jurisdiction, the statute used, the target, and what the threat actually caused to happen.
State Sentences
Most terroristic threat cases are prosecuted in state court, and each state sets its own penalties. About 25 states have a standalone terroristic threat statute; the rest reach the same conduct through general threat, intimidation, or criminal menacing laws. The single biggest sentencing question in state court is whether the charge is filed as a misdemeanor or a felony.
Misdemeanor Range
Lower-level threats, where the language was less specific or the disruption minimal, are sometimes charged as misdemeanors. A misdemeanor conviction generally carries up to one year in a county jail plus fines that vary by state. Some states impose relatively modest fines; others set maximums of $10,000 or more even at the misdemeanor level for threats suggesting mass violence.
Felony Range
Felony charges apply to more serious threats. Common triggers include threats that force a building evacuation, target a public official, reference a specific weapon, or create widespread fear of mass casualties. Felony prison sentences typically run from one to ten years. The ceiling climbs much higher in a minority of states: roughly a dozen authorize sentences of 15 to 30 years for the most aggravated conduct, especially retaliation against witnesses, threats intended to terrorize a population, or threats that actually cause physical injury. Fines for felony convictions commonly land between $10,000 and $50,000, and courts frequently add probation and restitution to cover the cost of any emergency response the threat triggered.
Federal Sentences
There is no single federal “terroristic threat” statute. Several federal laws cover different kinds of threatening conduct, each with a distinct maximum. A threat becomes a federal case when it crosses state or international borders, targets a federal interest, involves aviation or explosives, or qualifies as domestic terrorism.
Interstate Threats: Up to 5 or 20 Years
The most commonly charged federal threat statute, 18 U.S.C. 875, covers threats transmitted across state lines or international borders by phone, email, text, social media, or any other means. A basic threat to kidnap or injure someone carries up to five years in federal prison. If the threat was made with intent to extort money or anything of value, the maximum rises to 20 years.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
Bomb and Explosive Threats: Up to 10 Years
Threatening to kill, injure, or destroy property using fire or explosives carries up to 10 years in federal prison under 18 U.S.C. 844, regardless of whether the person actually had access to any explosives.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 844 – Penalties This covers bomb threats phoned in to schools, mailed to businesses, or posted online. The same statute punishes knowingly conveying false information about a bombing attempt, so a fake bomb threat carries the same 10-year exposure as a real one.
Threats Against Federal Officials: Up to 10 or 30 Years
Threatening a federal judge, prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or their family members is a separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 115. The maximum is 10 years, dropping to six years if the threat involves an assault rather than more serious violence.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 115 – Influencing, Impeding, or Retaliating Against a Federal Official by Threatening or Injuring a Family Member If the threat is carried out and causes serious bodily injury or involves a dangerous weapon, the penalties escalate to as much as 30 years.
Aviation Threats: Up to 5 Years
Making a threat to hijack, damage, or attack an aircraft or airport carries up to five years in federal prison under 49 U.S.C. 46507. The same law covers providing knowingly false information about an aviation threat.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 46507 – False Information and Threats These cases are prosecuted aggressively even when the threat is obviously a joke, because the disruption and emergency response are treated as inherently serious.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Up to Life
At the extreme end, threatening to use a biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear weapon carries a potential sentence of any term of years up to life under 18 U.S.C. 2332a. If someone dies as a result, the death penalty is available.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2332a – Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Even a threat with no real capability behind it can be charged under this statute if it references these types of weapons.
Hoax Threats and Swatting
False emergency reports have become a major federal charging category. Swatting, where someone calls in a fake hostage or active-shooter report to send armed police to an unsuspecting target, is typically prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. 1038. The base penalty is up to five years in prison. If someone suffers serious bodily injury during the response, the maximum rises to 20 years. If someone dies, the sentence can reach life.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes
A conviction under this statute also requires the defendant to reimburse every state, local, or nonprofit emergency service that responded to the hoax. A single swatting call can easily generate tens of thousands of dollars in police, fire, and EMS costs, and the court treats that restitution order as a civil judgment collectible like any other debt.
What Moves a Sentence Up or Down
The wide ranges exist because judges have real discretion to match punishment to conduct. A vague late-night post is not the same case as a detailed bomb threat phoned into a hospital, and sentences reflect that gap. The factors that move a sentence are fairly consistent across jurisdictions.
- Criminal history, particularly any prior violence or prior threats. In the federal system, criminal history category directly affects the guideline range.
- Credibility of the threat. Specific details, a timeline, or references to actual weapons push a sentence up; vague or clearly implausible statements pull it down.
- Actual disruption caused. Threats that triggered school lockdowns, building evacuations, flight diversions, or large emergency responses draw harsher sentences, and the cost of that response often becomes a restitution obligation.
- Target. Threats aimed at public officials, schools, houses of worship, or members of protected classes tend to carry enhanced penalties in both systems.
- Use of a weapon. Brandishing or possessing a weapon while making the threat elevates both the charge and the sentence in nearly every jurisdiction.
- Whether the threat was carried out or attempted. Overt acts toward following through can turn a five-year case into a 20-year case or longer.
When the Charge Doesn’t Stick
Not every threatening-sounding statement is a crime. The First Amendment protects political hyperbole, dark humor, rhetorical exaggeration, and speech that a reasonable person would not read as a genuine threat of violence. The line between protected speech and criminal conduct is the “true threat” doctrine.
In Counterman v. Colorado (2023), the Supreme Court held that the prosecution must prove at least recklessness: that the speaker consciously disregarded a substantial risk that their words would be understood as threatening violence.7Supreme Court of the United States. Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138 That standard applies whether the threat was spoken in person, texted, or posted on social media. A statement that was clearly satirical, conditional, taken out of context, or made in a setting where no reasonable person would take it seriously can be defended on this ground. Song lyrics, social media rants with obvious rhetorical flourish, and statements made in political debate have all been defended successfully.
Context does most of the work. The same words that are protected at a protest rally can be a prosecutable threat if sent directly to a named person along with their home address. Defense attorneys typically argue the surrounding circumstances: whether the statement was public or private, whether it was directed at a specific target, whether the speaker had any ability to carry it out, and how the audience actually reacted.
What Follows the Prison Term
The sentence itself is only part of what a conviction does. Several consequences apply after release and probation are behind you.
Firearms
A felony terroristic threat conviction permanently bars firearm and ammunition possession under federal law, which reaches any conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year, meaning nearly every felony threat charge in the country. Violating that prohibition is itself a federal felony carrying up to 15 years.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Work and Licensing
Background checks flag the conviction, and employers in education, healthcare, law enforcement, and financial services often will not hire someone with a violent offense on their record. Licensing boards in nursing, teaching, real estate, and medicine commonly require disclosure of all criminal convictions and can deny or revoke a license based on a threat conviction. This applies to misdemeanor threat convictions as well as felonies.
Travel and Clearances
The Transportation Security Administration permanently disqualifies people convicted of threats involving explosives, public transportation, or government facilities from programs like PreCheck and Global Entry.9Transportation Security Administration. Disqualifying Offenses and Other Factors Federal security clearances are effectively out of reach with a threat conviction on your record, and many countries deny entry to visitors with felony convictions.
Expungement
Whether a terroristic threat conviction can eventually be cleared depends entirely on state law. Some states allow felony expungement after a waiting period of one to ten years past completion of the sentence; others exclude violent felonies from expungement entirely. Federal felony convictions generally cannot be expunged. A criminal defense attorney in the state where the conviction occurred is the only reliable source for determining eligibility.