{"jurisdiction": "us-ny", "code": "penal", "section": "490.20", "citation": "Penal Law § 490.20", "heading": "Making a terroristic threat", "text": ["§ 490.20 Making a terroristic threat.", "1. A person is guilty of making a terroristic threat when with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping, he or she threatens to commit or cause to be committed a specified offense and thereby causes a reasonable expectation or fear of the imminent commission of such offense.", "2. It shall be no defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section that the defendant did not have the intent or capability of committing the specified offense or that the threat was not made to a person who was a subject thereof.", "Making a terroristic threat is a class D felony."], "official_source": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/490.20", "from_official_api": true, "plain_english": "- **(1)** A person **makes a terroristic threat** by threatening to commit or cause a specified offense, intending to **intimidate or coerce civilians**, influence government policy **by intimidation or coercion**, or affect government conduct through murder, assassination, or kidnapping, and thereby causing a **reasonable expectation or fear that the offense is imminent**. ★\n- **(2)** It is **no defense** that the person lacked the intent or ability to carry out the offense or that the threat was not made to its subject.\n\nThe offense is a **class D felony**. ★", "in_force_on": "2026-05-31", "retrieved": "2026-09-27", "url": "https://elyphived.com/us-ny/penal/490.20", "publisher": "Elyphived LLC"}