An angry text message, a heated argument outside a bar, or words said during a breakup may escalate into criminal charges faster than most people realize. In Greenville, what you say—and how someone interprets it—might land you in handcuffs, facing jail time and a permanent criminal record. At Fedalei & Reid Law LLC, we move quickly to protect your rights when words turn into legal trouble. Call (864) 668-1661 for a free consultation.
Key Takeaways for Violent Threats Charges
- South Carolina law defines assault and battery in the third degree to include offering or attempting to injure another person with the present ability to do so, carrying penalties of up to $500 in fines and 30 days in jail.
- After Counterman v. Colorado (2023), the First Amendment doesn't protect a statement if the speaker recklessly ignored a substantial risk that the words would be taken as a threat of violence.
- The "present ability" requirement for assault and battery provides defense opportunities, though electronic threats may trigger other statutes
- Threatening a public official, teacher, or principal carries felony charges with potential penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and five years in prison.
When Words Become Criminal in South Carolina
South Carolina takes a different approach to assault charges than many other states. The law combines what other jurisdictions split into separate offenses, creating a single framework for both physical violence and threatening words.
Third-Degree Assault by Threat
Threatening to injure another person in South Carolina falls under third-degree assault and battery, a misdemeanor that may result in a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. This charge doesn't require any physical contact. Simply offering to hurt someone with the apparent ability to follow through creates criminal liability under South Carolina Code § 16-3-600.
The charge applies to face-to-face confrontations, phone calls, text messages, and social media posts. A threat made while holding a weapon, standing at someone's front door, or after a pattern of confrontational behavior carries more weight than words said from across a parking lot.
Even if the "present ability" element knocks out an assault and battery third-degree charge, prosecutors sometimes pivot to harassment/stalking (S.C. Code §§ 16-3-1700 et seq.) or unlawful electronic/telephone communications (§ 16-17-430), and threats to public officials/teachers are separately chargeable under § 16-3-1040.
The Present Ability Requirement
For assault and battery in the third degree based on a threat, the state must prove you had the present ability to carry it out. If you were separated by distance or barriers, that may defeat this specific charge. It doesn't end the analysis, however: electronic threats may still trigger harassment/stalking statutes or § 16-3-1040 in the public-official context.
If you threaten someone while they're in Greenville and you're in another state, that geographical separation matters for the assault charge. If you make a vague statement about future harm without any immediate means to act, prosecutors face a higher burden on the present ability element.
Distance and barriers may defeat an assault and battery charge on the "present ability" element, but texts and direct messages may still support harassment or unlawful communications charges.
Enhanced Penalties for Threats Against Officials
Threatening a public official, teacher, or principal carries felony charges with potential penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and five years in prison, while threatening other public employees remains a misdemeanor with up to $500 in fines and 30 days in jail under SC Code § 16-3-1040.
The following individuals receive enhanced legal protection:
- Elected or appointed public officials at the federal, state, county, or municipal levels
- Teachers and principals at elementary or secondary schools
- Public employees when threats relate to their official responsibilities
- Immediate family members of any protected individuals
An angry parent who threatens a teacher during a school dispute might face felony exposure. A resident who threatens a city council member about a zoning decision risks years in prison rather than days in county jail.
What Makes a Threat Prosecutable in Greenville
Local law enforcement and prosecutors take threat cases seriously, but they must still prove specific elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
Intent and Reasonable Fear
Prosecutors must show you knowingly and willfully communicated a threat. Accidental statements, misunderstood jokes, or words taken out of context don't satisfy this requirement. The state must also prove the victim actually experienced fear and that this fear was reasonable.
If the alleged victim continued to interact with the accused in a friendly manner after the supposed threat, defense attorneys may argue that a reasonable person would not have felt genuinely threatened. When someone reports feeling terrified but continues texting casually or attends social events with you, their credibility suffers.
Electronic and Written Communications
Text messages, emails, Facebook posts, and voicemails create permanent records that prosecutors may use as evidence. However, electronic communications also provide defense opportunities. Messages show context that law enforcement may have initially ignored. Prior conversations may reveal an ongoing dispute where both parties used heated language.
Screenshots often capture only part of a conversation. Your attorney obtains complete message threads that show inflammatory statements from the other person or evidence that your words were responses to provocation.
Context and Circumstances That Matter
Courts consider the following factors:
- Whether you had weapons or made threatening gestures
- Your tone of voice, volume, and demeanor
- Whether you approached the person or they approached you
- Prior history between you and the alleged victim
- Whether alcohol or drugs played a role
Context influences how both law enforcement and juries view threat allegations.
First Amendment Protections and Limits
Not every threatening statement is criminal. The Constitution protects broad categories of speech, even speech that makes others uncomfortable or angry.
True Threats vs. Protected Speech
The First Amendment protects speech unless it constitutes a "true threat." After Counterman v. Colorado (2023), the constitutional floor is recklessness: the state must show the speaker consciously disregarded a substantial risk that the words would be taken as a threat of violence. Prosecutors still have to satisfy South Carolina's statutory elements.
Courts distinguish between genuine threats of violence and protected expression like political speech or emotional venting.
Political Hyperbole and Conditional Statements
The First Amendment provides robust protection for political speech and heated rhetoric. Courts recognize that passionate disagreement about government actions often involves exaggerated language that reasonable people understand as hyperbole rather than genuine threats.
Statements like "You'll be sorry" may be too vague to constitute a criminal threat without specifying immediate or specific harm. Conditional threats—"If you do X, then I'll do Y"—often fall outside criminal liability because they don't place the victim at direct risk.
Defense Strategies for Threat Charges
Every threat case turns on specific facts. Effective defense requires examining exactly what was said, who heard it, what happened before and after, and whether the state proves every element.
Constitutional Challenges
First Amendment defenses attack whether the statement qualifies as a true threat at all. Your attorney may argue your words constituted protected political speech, rhetorical hyperbole, or conditional statements that don't meet the legal definition of criminal threats.
Lack of Intent or Ability
If a threat was made in jest or out of frustration, it may not meet the legal standard for a criminal threat. Proof that you were joking, that your words were taken out of context, or that you were expressing frustration without any intention to act undermines the prosecution's case.
Common defenses include:
- The statement was clearly a joke or sarcasm understood by everyone present
- You were venting frustration without directing threats at any person
- You lacked any means to carry out the threatened action
- Geographical distance made immediate action impossible
- The threat was conditional on events that never occurred
The present ability requirement creates powerful defense opportunities. If you lacked any means to carry out the threatened action when you spoke, that absence defeats an essential element of the assault and battery charge.
Vague or Misunderstood Communication
If a supposed threat was never conveyed to the victim, this serves as a compelling defense strategy in criminal threat cases. Statements made to third parties that the alleged victim never heard create proof problems for prosecutors.
Ambiguous language that doesn't clearly threaten specific harm also defeats criminal charges. When multiple reasonable interpretations exist, juries must resolve doubt in your favor.
False Accusations in Domestic Disputes
Divorce, custody battles, and contentious breakups create motives for fabricated threat allegations. When someone stands to gain custody or property by portraying you as dangerous, their credibility deserves intense scrutiny.
Your attorney examines timelines, inconsistencies in the alleged victim's story, and evidence of bias. Text messages and witness testimony may prove you never said what's alleged or that the other person made similar statements themselves.
Penalties and Long-Term Consequences
Criminal convictions create problems that extend far beyond the judge's sentence.
Criminal Penalties in South Carolina
Assault and battery in the third degree (threat by offer/attempt) carries a penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Threats made against public officials, teachers, or principals (§ 16-3-1040) are considered a felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. Judges may impose additional sanctions such as probation, community service, counseling, and no-contact orders.
Bond Conditions and No-Contact Orders
After arrest, bond conditions often include orders prohibiting any contact with the alleged victim. These orders remain in effect throughout the case and sometimes permanently after conviction. Violating no-contact orders may bring separate criminal charges.
No-contact orders create hardships when you share children, workplaces, or social circles with the alleged victim. You may be barred from your own home, unable to attend your child's school events, or forced to change jobs.
Impact on Employment and Firearm Rights
Threat convictions appear on criminal background checks that employers, landlords, and professional licensing boards review. Long-term impacts may include:
- Ineligibility for public housing or housing vouchers
- Immigration consequences, including deportation for non-citizens
- Loss of voting rights until completion of your sentence (including probation and parole) for felony convictions in South Carolina
- Difficulty obtaining professional certifications and state licenses
- Loss of firearm rights for felony convictions
Immigration and licensing consequences are highly fact-specific; get counsel before answering employer or licensing-board questions. These consequences often last longer and create more disruption than the original criminal penalties.
The Greenville Arrest and Court Process
Understanding what happens after arrest helps you protect your rights and make informed decisions.
From Arrest to First Appearance
Greenville Police or Greenville County Sheriff's deputies typically arrest threat suspects based on victim statements and available evidence. You'll be transported to the Greenville County Detention Center for booking.
Within 24 hours, you appear before a magistrate or municipal judge for a bond hearing. The judge sets bail conditions and may impose a no-contact order.
Evidence Prosecutors Use
The state builds its case from victim statements, witness testimony, electronic communications, and sometimes audio or video recordings. Police reports document the victim's claimed fear and any visible emotional distress.
Your attorney's job includes obtaining all evidence the state plans to use and investigating evidence that supports your defense.
Timeline and Court Proceedings
Misdemeanor cases move through magistrate or municipal court. Felony cases go to General Sessions Court at the Greenville County Courthouse. Having an attorney involved from the start—before you make any statements to police—gives you the strongest position throughout this process.
FAQ for Violent Threats Charges
Does police body camera footage help or hurt my threat case?
Body camera footage from Greenville Police often captures the immediate aftermath of alleged threats. If the victim appears calm or shows no signs of genuine fear, the footage may support your defense. If the victim appears terrified, prosecutors may use it to prove their case.
What happens if both people made threats during an argument?
Both parties might face arrest when each person threatened the other. However, prosecutors sometimes decline to pursue both cases, especially when evidence shows one person acted defensively. Your attorney presents context showing who initiated the confrontation.
What if I was defending my property when I made the threat?
South Carolina's Protection of Persons and Property Act might justify the use of force in limited circumstances. A warning to leave your property supports a defensive-context argument, but the Act justifies use of force in limited circumstances; it doesn't automatically immunize threatening language. Facts and setting matter.
Will attending anger management classes before trial help my case?
Completing anger management or counseling before trial demonstrates accountability and reduces your risk profile. These steps often influence sentencing recommendations, plea negotiations, and judges' willingness to consider alternatives to jail time.
How does a threat charge affect future gun ownership in South Carolina?
Felony convictions eliminate your right to possess firearms under both South Carolina and federal law. Even misdemeanor domestic violence convictions trigger federal firearm prohibitions. If the threat charge involved a domestic partner or family member, any conviction may result in permanent loss of firearm rights.
Take Control of Your Defense Today
Words said in anger, frustration, or fear shouldn't define the rest of your life. Threat charges threaten your freedom, your record, and your future opportunities, but they're defensible when you have someone who knows how to challenge the state's case and protect your constitutional rights.
At FR Law, we dig into the facts, challenge weak evidence, and fight for the best possible outcome in your case. From the bond hearing through trial, we stand with you at every step.
Call (864) 668-1661 now to schedule a free consultation. We'll review your situation, explain your options in plain English, and start building your defense immediately. Your future is worth defending.