Originally Posted by
cparekh
Big ups for the UK, but would has anything like this been prosecuted in the US. I am sure some of the bullying on twitter and facebook has been prosecuted, but that was only when a link could be drawn between the menacing speech and a negative outcome for the victim.
Specifically, if I threaten to blow up the airport, but no one who hears that threat feel threatened, is that even a crime. This was the basis of the ruling in the UK, but is threatening even a crime in the US, if no one feels threatened?
This is an honest question that I sure one of our legal scholars can tell us about.
I'm certainly not a legal scholar. But there are similar precedents in other areas of the law.
I'm sure POTUS rarely fears the threats that all sorts of crackpots make against him. Yet threatening POTUS is a Class D felony,
according to Wikipedia.
Of course, that's a terribly unusual situation, and may not be applicable here.