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Can you go to jail for online harassment federally
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation criminal defense law firm managed by Todd Spodek – who has many, many, years of experience handling serious federal cases. Our team has over 40 years of combined legal experience defending clients in federal court nationwide. We’ve handled high-stakes cases involving allegations like stalking Alec Baldwin, Anna Delvey conning wealthy NYC elites, and juror misconduct in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. In 2022, Netflix released a series about Anna Sorokin, one of Todd’s most famous clients.
This article answers whether you can go to federal prison for online harassment. The short answer – yes, absolutely. People are serving years in federal prison right now for what started as social media posts, text messages, or emails. You need to understand what conduct crosses the line, what penalties federal prosecutors pursue, and when online behavior triggers federal jurisdiction.
Two Federal Laws That Send People to Prison
18 U.S.C. § 2261A is the cyberstalking law that carries up to 5 years in federal prison. This statute covers any course of conduct – meaning two or more acts – using electronic communications that causes substantial emotional distress or places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury. If your harassment leads to serious bodily harm, that increases to 10 years. Permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injuries – up to 20 years. If the victim dies, federal law allows life imprisonment.
The other statute is 47 U.S.C. § 223, which prohibits obscene or harassing interstate communications. This one maxes out at 2 years in federal prison and covers repeated phone calls, text messages, emails – any telecommunications device used with intent to harass. Congress just amended this statute in May 2025, showing federal lawmakers are actively updating these laws.
The key difference – § 2261A requires proof of substantial emotional distress or fear, while § 223 focuses on the harassing intent and repeated nature of communications. Prosecutors choose which statute fits your conduct, sometimes they’ll charge both.
When Online Harassment Becomes Federal
Your case becomes federal when communications cross state lines. If you’re in California sending threatening Instagram DMs to someone in New York – that’s interstate commerce triggering federal jurisdiction. Federal prosecutors can argue internet communications traveled through interstate servers even if both parties live in the same city, and courts have consistently upheld this.
The FBI doesn’t investigate everyone reported for online harassment. Their threshold is extreme and ongoing harm. You’re looking at federal attention when there’s a pattern of obsessive targeting, credible threats of violence, sophisticated harassment tactics like creating fake accounts or doxxing victims, or campaigns affecting multiple people over months or years.
Most harassment cases stay at the state level. Federal prosecutors handle cases with multiple victims across different states, extended harassment despite warnings, protective order violations, or conduct severe enough to warrant federal resources.
Real Prison Sentences From 2024-2025
Kenneth Peter Hoover from Tuscaloosa got 37 months in federal prison in April 2025 for threatening and cyberstalking his ex-girlfriend. He posted threats on X (formerly Twitter) saying he would assault and kill her. The FBI National Threat Operations Center received a tip, investigated, and federal prosecutors charged him.
A Plymouth, Massachusetts man received 9 years in federal prison for cyberstalking more than a dozen women over a 16-year period from 2008 through 2024. His conduct included creating imposter social media accounts, posting sexually explicit AI-generated or photoshopped images of victims, publishing personal information including driver’s license photos and home addresses, and using hacked accounts to surveil victims.
St. Louis Park man Julyen Alonzo Martin received federal prison time in September 2023 after cyberstalking and threatening to kill two victims. The federal judge called it “one of the most vicious and cruel cyberstalking cases” she’d ever encountered. Martin created fake social media accounts posing as victims and posted harmful allegations about them online.
Between 2010 and 2020, federal prosecutors filed 412 cyberstalking cases. That number peaked at 80 cases in 2019. Each conviction typically results in multiple years of federal prison time – not probation, not home confinement, but actual Bureau of Prisons custody where you’re doing 85% of your sentence before release.
Conduct That Crosses the Line
Creating imposter accounts to humiliate someone crosses the line. Posting someone’s address, phone number, or workplace online with intent to harass them – that’s doxxing, and federal prosecutors consider it cyberstalking when it causes substantial emotional distress. Photoshopping someone into pornographic images and distributing them online is federal territory, especially with AI-generated content.
Repeated contact after being told to stop demonstrates the course of conduct element prosecutors need. One angry email probably isn’t federal cyberstalking. Fifty emails over three months after someone blocked you – that’s a federal case. Using multiple platforms after being blocked shows persistence that draws federal attention.
The standard is substantial emotional distress to the victim, not just annoyance. Federal prosecutors typically need medical records, therapy documentation, or testimony showing genuine psychological harm. Fear of death or serious bodily injury also qualifies – if a reasonable person would fear violence based on your communications, that’s enough even if you claim you were “just venting.”
Penalties Beyond Prison Time
You face fines up to $250,000 per count. Federal judges impose supervised release lasting years after prison, during which you’ll have restricted internet access, monitoring of all online activity, and requirements to avoid any contact with victims. Violating supervised release sends you back to federal prison.
A federal felony conviction destroys employment prospects, professional licenses, and your ability to possess firearms. You’ll have difficulty renting apartments, getting loans, or traveling internationally. The collateral consequences extend far beyond whatever prison time the judge imposes.
What to Do if You’re Under Investigation
If the FBI contacts you about online harassment allegations, do not talk to them without an attorney. Federal agents are skilled at eliciting statements that sound innocent but establish elements of federal crimes. They’ll say cooperation will help you, that this is your chance to explain – all designed to build their case against you.
Do not delete posts, accounts, or messages. Destroying evidence is obstruction of justice, which carries its own prison sentence. Federal investigators retrieve deleted material through subpoenas to service providers. Do not contact the alleged victim to “work things out.” Any contact after an investigation begins will be used as evidence of continued harassment.
Federal cyberstalking cases are not situations where you explain yourself and the misunderstanding gets cleared up. By the time federal prosecutors decide to charge you, they’ve already built substantial evidence. Your focus needs to be on mounting an effective defense with experienced counsel – not talking your way out of charges.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended clients in federal court across the country. Our team includes former federal prosecutors who understand how these cases get built and how to challenge evidence. We focus on clients who need serious legal representation – attorneys who can actually fight federal charges effectively. If federal investigators have contacted you about online harassment or cyberstalking allegations, reach out to us immediately. We’re available 24/7 because federal criminal matters don’t wait for business hours.