True Threats

Virginia v. Black - U.S. Supreme Court (2003):

In Virginia v. Black, true threats are defined as "statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals." To be a true threat, the speaker does not have to intend to carry out the threat.

Doe v. Polaski County Special School District - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (2002):

In Doe, the Eighth Circuit defined a true threat as a "statement that a reasonable recipient would have interpreted as a serious expression of an intent to harm or cause injury to another." The speaker must have intented to communicate his statement to another. The Doe court held that the element of intent to communicate to another is met if the "speaker communicates the statement to the object of the purported threat or to a third party."