Is a Terroristic Threat a Crime in Texas?

Yes. A threat can be a crime in Texas. Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.07, a threat of violence made to put another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury is the offense of terroristic threat. It starts as a Class B misdemeanor and climbs to a Class A misdemeanor or a third-degree felony depending on who was threatened and what the threat was meant to do. The law reaches words said in person, over the phone, in a text message, or in an online post.

Here is the part that surprises most people I talk to. The State does not have to prove you actually meant to carry out the threat. The crime is in the threat itself and the fear it was designed to cause, not in whether you ever intended to follow through. A heated comment typed in anger can become a criminal charge.

This is a general overview of Texas law. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for talking to an attorney about a specific situation.

What counts as a terroristic threat in Texas

The statute is about a threat of violence against a person, against property, or against the public. The threat has to be made with the intent to do one of the things the law lists, such as placing a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury, or causing a public place to be evacuated.

Three pieces matter most:

• A threat of violence. The words have to communicate violence. Vague venting and bad jokes can still draw a charge, which is part of why these cases turn on what was actually said and how.
• An intent to cause fear or disruption. The State looks at why the threat was made. The categories in the statute, fear, evacuation, government disruption, are what move a case from one punishment level to the next.
• No need to prove you would have done it. This is worth repeating because it catches people off guard. Under Section 22.07, the offense is complete even if you had no actual plan, ability, or intent to carry out the threat.

That last point is why I tell people not to assume a charge is weak just because they “never would have actually done anything.” The law was written to cover exactly that situation.

The punishment levels under Section 22.07

The same statute carries very different consequences depending on the facts. Here is how the levels work.

Class B misdemeanor

The baseline offense, a threat made to place a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury, is generally a Class B misdemeanor. This is the most common version of the charge, often coming out of an argument between people who know each other.

Class A misdemeanor

The charge rises to a Class A misdemeanor when the threat is against a member of the person’s family or household, or when it is made to prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building, room, place of assembly, or public place. A threat during a domestic dispute frequently lands here, and a family-violence finding can attach to it, which carries its own long-term weight.

Third-degree felony

The offense becomes a third-degree felony when the threat:

• is made against a public servant,
• is made to influence the conduct or activities of a branch or agency of the state, the federal government, or a local government,
• causes a public place to be evacuated (a school, an office building, a stadium), or
• causes pecuniary loss of $1,500 or more to the owner of a building, place of assembly, or means of conveyance.

A felony is a different world from a misdemeanor. A conviction can mean state prison time, the loss of firearm rights while the sentence is in effect, and a record that follows you onto every background check. The line between a misdemeanor and a felony often comes down to facts that a defense lawyer can question, like whether a “place” was really evacuated because of the threat, or whether the dollar figure the State is using actually holds up.

This page does not lay out the exact fine and jail ranges for each level, because those depend on the specifics and on factors like prior history. A lawyer can walk you through what your particular charge carries.

Online threats, text messages, and social media

People often assume the word “terroristic” means bombs and mass attacks. In Texas, the statute is far broader than the name suggests, and it applies squarely to things typed on a phone or a keyboard.

A threatening text to an ex. A comment under a social media post. A direct message during an argument. A statement in a group chat. All of those can support a terroristic threat charge if the words communicate a threat of violence meant to cause fear. Screenshots and message logs are easy for the State to gather, and they tend to read worse in a courtroom than they felt in the moment.

If you have been contacted by police or by a detective about something you posted or sent, the safest move is to stop talking and call a lawyer. Anything you say trying to explain or apologize can become evidence. I write more about that early window in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Collin County.

A separate law covers bomb threats

Texas treats actual bomb threats and false reports of bombs or other emergencies under different statutes, not the terroristic-threat law in Section 22.07. If you are dealing with an accusation about a bomb threat or a false alarm or report, the charge and the penalties can look different from what is described here. That is one more reason to get the specific accusation in front of a lawyer rather than guessing based on the name of an offense.

How these cases get defended

Because intent to cause fear is at the center of the statute, terroristic threat cases often turn on context. What were the exact words? Were they a real threat or hyperbole said in frustration? Who heard them, and did anyone actually take them as a threat of imminent harm? Was the alleged “threat” reported accurately, or filtered through someone with a reason to exaggerate? In domestic situations especially, these charges can grow out of a messy fight where both sides said things they regret.

None of that decides a case on its own. But these are the questions a defense attorney can raise, and they are the kind of facts that can move a charge down a level or call the whole accusation into doubt.

Kent Starr defends assault and threat charges in McKinney and across Collin County, from a misdemeanor terroristic threat through felony cases. If you or a family member is facing a charge under Section 22.07, the words and the timeline matter, and they are worth going over with a lawyer before you say anything else.

If you have been accused of making a terroristic threat in McKinney or Collin County, reach out for a confidential consultation with Kent. Every case is different and depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

This article is general legal information about Texas law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.