Interstate Threatening Communications - 18 U.S.C. § 875 Sentencing Guidelines.

Thanks for visiting Federal Lawyers, a second-generation firm managed by our lead attorney with over 40 years of combined experience. When federal prosecutors charge interstate threatening communications under 18 U.S.C. § 875, they're alleging you transmitted threats via interstate or foreign commerce, phone calls, emails, text messages, social media posts, or any electronic communication crossing state lines, to kidnap, injure, or extort. Maximum sentence: 5 years for most threats; 20 years for ransom demands. This statute is the modern workhorse for federal threat prosecutions, replacing § 876 (mail threats) in the internet age. Nearly every electronic threat crosses state lines given how telecommunications infrastructure operates, making § 875 applicable to virtually all online and phone-based threats.

What § 875 Criminalizes

The statute creates four distinct offenses:

§ 875(a): Ransom Demands

Transmitting ransom demands for kidnapping victims via interstate commerce. Maximum: 20 years. This covers actual kidnappings where perpetrators demand payment electronically, emails demanding bitcoin for hostages' release, calls to families demanding wire transfers, messages to companies demanding payment for executives' safety.

§ 875(b): Threat to Kidnap

Transmitting threats to kidnap any person. Maximum: 5 years. Threatening to abduct victims, their children, or others, "I'm going to take your kid" emails, texts threatening to kidnap unless demands are met, social media posts threatening abduction.

§ 875(c): Threat to Injure

Transmitting threats to injure recipients or others. Maximum: 5 years. This is the most commonly charged subsection, covering death threats, assault threats, threats of property damage sent electronically. "I'm going to kill you" emails, threatening texts, violent social media messages all violate § 875(c).

§ 875(d): Extortion by Threat

Transmitting extortionate threats, communications threatening injury to person or property to extort money or anything of value. Maximum: 2 years. "Pay me $10,000 or I'll destroy your business" emails, threats to reveal embarrassing information unless paid, blackmail schemes conducted electronically.

The offense level differences reflect perceived harm: ransom demands in actual kidnappings warrant 20 years because lives are immediately at risk. Extortion receives lower maximums than pure threats because extortion requires willingness to not harm if paid, suggesting less dangerous intent than threats seeking no payment.

The Interstate Commerce Element

Section 875 requires threats be transmitted "in interstate or foreign commerce." What does this mean?

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• Phone calls - Nearly all phone calls use infrastructure crossing state lines, even local calls. Interstate commerce is presumed for telephonic communications.
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• Emails - Email servers route messages through multiple states regardless of sender/recipient locations. Federal jurisdiction attaches to virtually all emails.
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• Text messages - SMS routing crosses state lines, satisfying interstate commerce requirements.
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• Social media - Posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok travel through servers in multiple states and countries, creating interstate commerce.
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• Direct messages - Even private DMs on platforms use interstate infrastructure.
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Defense rarely succeeds in challenging the interstate commerce element. Modern telecommunications make it nearly impossible to communicate electronically without crossing state lines. Courts presume interstate commerce when any electronic medium is used.