A terroristic threat in Texas is a threat to commit a violent crime against a person or property, made with one of six specific intents (Penal Code § 22.07). Most cases are misdemeanors. A threat meant to put someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury is a Class B, and it becomes a Class A in a family violence case or when the threat is against a public servant. It turns into a felony when the target is a peace officer or judge, or when the threat is aimed at something bigger than one person, like frightening the public or cutting off a public service. A threat to shut down a building or business is a Class A, and becomes a felony only if it costs the owner $1,500 or more. A lot of these cases start with one angry text or one bad joke. The State still has to prove what you meant, and that’s where we go to work.
Call (713) 664-4000 for a free consultation. Don’t text the other person to explain or apologize, and don’t delete anything. Both end up in the file. Jay Blass Cohen has been a Houston criminal defense lawyer since 2009 and has never worked for the prosecution.
What the State has to prove
The offense is threatening to commit any offense involving violence to a person or property, with the intent to do one of these things (§ 22.07(a)):
- get a reaction from police, fire, EMS or another emergency agency
- place someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury
- prevent or interrupt the use of a building, workplace, vehicle or any place the public can go
- interrupt public communications, transportation, water, gas, power or another public service
- place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury
- influence what a federal, state or local government agency does
Nothing in § 22.07 requires a weapon or a plan. That cuts both ways. You can be charged over words alone, but the whole case lives or dies on intent.
How Texas grades a terroristic threat
| What the State alleges | Level | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Threat meant to trigger an emergency response, or to put a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury | Class B misdemeanor (§ 22.07(b), (c)) | Up to 180 days in jail, up to a $2,000 fine |
| Fear of imminent serious bodily injury, in a family violence case (including any family or household member) or against a public servant | Class A misdemeanor (§ 22.07(c)(1), (2)) | Up to one year in jail, up to a $4,000 fine |
| Threat meant to interrupt the use of a building, workplace, vehicle or public place | Class A misdemeanor (§ 22.07(d)) | Up to one year in jail, up to a $4,000 fine |
| Fear of imminent serious bodily injury, against someone you know is a peace officer or judge | State jail felony (§ 22.07(c-1)) | 180 days to 2 years in state jail, up to a $10,000 fine |
| Interrupting a building or place and causing the owner $1,500 or more in economic loss | State jail felony (§ 22.07(d), (g)) | 180 days to 2 years in state jail, up to a $10,000 fine |
| Threat meant to interrupt public communications, transportation, utilities or another public service | Third-degree felony (§ 22.07(e)) | 2 to 10 years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine |
| Threat meant to frighten the public or a substantial group, or to influence a government agency | Third-degree felony (§ 22.07(e)) | 2 to 10 years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine |
The ranges come from Penal Code §§ 12.21, 12.22, 12.34 and 12.35. The grade follows the intent the State alleges, not how scary the words sounded. A case filed as a felony for frightening the public can come down to a misdemeanor if the evidence only shows you were trying to scare one person.
Threats involving a school
Section 22.07 has no separate school grade. A school threat is graded by the intent the State can prove, from a Class B up to a third-degree felony. Prosecutors sometimes add false alarm or report under § 42.06, a state jail felony when the false report is about an emergency at a public school or a college. Students also face the school’s own process: conduct involving a public school that has the elements of a terroristic threat requires removal to a disciplinary alternative program, and the district can expel (Education Code §§ 37.006(a)(1), 37.007(b)(1)). If your child is accused, see our Houston juvenile defense page and call us before the school hearing.
Texts, social media posts and jokes
A text, a group chat, an Instagram story or a comment under someone’s post can all be charged. But a screenshot is a slice of a conversation. We get the whole thread. Dark humor, song lyrics, gaming trash talk and venting to a friend read very differently in context than pasted into a police report. “I was joking” isn’t a magic phrase, but whether you actually intended to scare someone or draw a police response is exactly what the State has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Family violence: what changes
A threat meant to put a family or household member in fear of imminent serious bodily injury is a Class A, and the fallout goes past the grade. If the court finds the offense involved family violence, that finding goes in the judgment (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42.013). A family violence offense can never be sealed with an order of nondisclosure, even after a completed deferred adjudication (Gov’t Code § 411.074(b)), and deferred blocks expunction too (Art. 55A.051(3)). So the record stays public unless the case ends in a dismissal without deferred, or an acquittal, and then gets expunged.
After a family violence arrest, the magistrate can issue an emergency protective order that keeps you away from the home (Art. 17.292). That order, or a later protective order, can bar you from possessing a firearm while it’s in effect (Art. 17.292(c)(4); Family Code § 85.022(b)(6)), and having one after notice is a Class A misdemeanor (Penal Code § 46.04(c)). The Texas five-year gun ban after a family violence conviction covers assault under § 22.01, not terroristic threat (§ 46.04(b)). Federal law has its own rules, and whether they reach you depends on your relationship to the other person and what any order says, so ask us before assuming either way. Our assault on a family member page covers the protective order fight, and breaking an order is its own charge (see violation of a protective order).
How we fight a terroristic threat charge
Intent. This is the case. What was said, to whom, in what setting, and what happened next. A threat nobody acted on, followed by an ordinary conversation an hour later, tells a jury something.
The grade. The State has to prove the specific intent that matches the level charged, plus facts like the $1,500 loss or that you knew the person was a peace officer. When it can’t, that grade falls apart.
The complainant. Family threat cases often come out of a breakup or a custody fight, where a threat claim is a handy weapon, and a jury gets to hear that.
The digital evidence. Who actually sent it, and what the full conversation shows, not the three messages someone chose to screenshot.
Terroristic threat results from our case files
- Dismissed in Harris County: terroristic threat (family/household). Our client was accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend’s life and banging on her door until the door frame broke.
See more of our case results. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Terroristic threat questions we hear
Can the person I threatened drop the charges?
No. The State files and dismisses the case. What the complainant wants still matters to a prosecutor, and we know how to put it in front of them the right way. Contacting them yourself can violate your bond.
Can a terroristic threat be sealed?
If it isn’t family violence, a misdemeanor deferred can be sealed starting two years after discharge, if you qualify (Gov’t Code § 411.0725(e)(2)). Family violence cases can’t be sealed. See our nondisclosure page.
Related charges
See our pages on aggravated assault, assault on a police officer, deadly conduct and assault.
Charged with a terroristic threat in Houston? Call Blass Law
A charge with “terroristic” in the name can cost you a job or time with your kids before it ever gets to court. We’ll get the whole conversation, not the screenshot, and tell you what the State can actually prove about what you meant. Call (713) 664-4000 or fill out the form on this page. If a protective order or bond condition is keeping you out of your home, call today.