RS 14:122.2: Threatening a public official or law enforcement officer; penalties; definitions

A.(1) Threatening a public official or law enforcement officer is engaging in any verbal or written communication that communicates a true threat to a public official or law enforcement officer.

(2) Whoever commits the crime of threatening a public official or law enforcement officer shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

B. For purposes of this Section:

(1) "Law enforcement officer" means any employee of the state, a municipality, a sheriff, or other public agency, whose permanent duties actually include the making of arrests, the performing of searches and seizures, or the execution of criminal warrants, and who is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime or for the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this state.

(2) "Public official" means any executive, ministerial, administrative, judicial, or legislative officer of the state of Louisiana.

(3) "True threats" occur when a person communicates a serious expression of an intent to commit an unlawful act of violence upon a person or group of persons with the intent to place such persons in fear of bodily harm or death. The person need not actually intend to carry out the threat.

(4) "Verbal or written communication" means any textual, visual, written, or oral communication, including communications made through social media.