Threatening People on Social Media in North Carolina: Is It a Federal Offense?
Online discussions can become quite heated. On one hand, free speech allows us to say rude, insulting, and even politically incorrect things online. On the other hand, there are strict laws against making threats. What if you were accused of threatening someone on social media in North Carolina? Could you face federal charges for this behavior? This is something you might want to discuss with a defense lawyer.
Many People Have Faced Federal Charges for Online Threats in North Carolina
Many North Carolina residents have faced federal charges for making threats online. A recent example involved a user who wrote threatening comments on a YouTube video. The individual in question commented that he was planning to carry out a shooting at a “black pre school,” noting that he planned to shoot “20 black babies.”
One might read these comments and immediately conclude that the man was probably joking. However, the federal authorities did not find the comments funny, and they took them very seriously. A U.S. Attorney wrote federal law enforcement agents were “deeply disturbed” by the comments, threatening to “meet this evil with the full force of the federal law enforcement apparatus.”
As a result of the YouTube comments, the defendant faces up to five years in federal prison. One issue with making these kinds of comments is that it attracts the attention of the federal authorities, who then search through your online history to find other problematic comments. As a result, a single threatening comment could lead to additional charges based on past online activities. The Department of Justice was careful to note that this man is innocent until proven guilty.
When Do Online Comments Become Federal Crimes?
Generally speaking, threatening comments become federal crimes when the communication crosses state lines. However, you could still face federal crimes even if you threaten another North Carolina resident. The internet is considered “interstate communication” because it uses federal infrastructure and an overall “web” that is spread across the entire country.
This is why people must be extremely careful about their online comments, even with the protections of the First Amendment. Different penalties apply based on the specific type of threat involved. If you threaten to carry out a terrorist attack, kidnap someone, or commit another type of heinous crime, you might face a longer sentence.
Defense Strategies for the Communication of Online Threats
Various defense strategies could apply to this situation. You could argue that you lacked the capacity to carry out the threat. For example, you might have threatened to fire a 50-kiloton nuclear warhead at a celebrity’s house. If you do not possess such a weapon, you might argue that the threat was never legitimate. One might also argue that this threat is so obviously ridiculous that no one should have ever taken it seriously.
Can a North Carolina Defense Lawyer Help With Federal Charges?
Not all lawyers have experience with federal offenses. If you face federal charges for transmitting interstate threats, you should contact a North Carolina federal crime defense attorney who has experience with federal offenses. Continue this conversation alongside The Pritchard Firm, and get started on a defense strategy today.
Sources:
justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/carteret-county-man-arrested-after-threatening-shoot-black-children-preschool
law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/875