{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-240.78","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Penal Law § 240.78","heading":"Making a threat of mass harm","body":"§ 240.78 Making a threat of mass harm.\n  1. A person is guilty of making a threat of mass harm when with the\nintent to intimidate a group of people or to create public alarm, such\nperson threatens to inflict or cause to be inflicted, serious physical\ninjury or death at a school, place of worship, business, government\nbuilding, or other place of assembly, and thereby causes a reasonable\nexpectation or fear of serious physical injury or death, or causes the\nevacuation or lockdown of a school, place of worship, business,\ngovernment building, or other place of assembly.\n  2. It shall be no defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section\nthat the defendant did not have the intent or capability of committing\nthe conduct threatened.\n  Making a threat of mass harm is a class B misdemeanor.","path":["Penal Law","Part 3. Specific Offenses","Title N. Offenses Against Public Order, Public Sensibilities and the Right to Privacy","Article 240. Offenses Against Public Order"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/PEN/240.78","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:45Z","sha256":"793adccc16872aed076f8067eef2a6f0d373a48c69956f7bef1b852f4eb09513","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-240.77","next":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-240.79"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}