§ Article 115 : Communicating Threats

Article 115 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 915) punishes wrongfully communicating a threat to injure a person, their property, or their reputation, with more severe treatment for threats involving explosives, weapons of mass destruction, biological or chemical agents, or hazardous materials — including malicious false threats of that kind.

Who It Applies To

Any person subject to the UCMJ who wrongfully communicates a threat to injure the person, property, or reputation of another; who wrongfully communicates a threat to injure a person or property using an explosive, a weapon of mass destruction, a biological or chemical agent, substance, or weapon, or a hazardous material; or who maliciously communicates a false threat of that kind, knowing at the time it is false.

What It Covers

Communicating threats generally

1. The accused communicated certain language expressing a present determination or intent to injure the person, property, or reputation of another person, presently or in the future.
2. The communication was made known to that person or to a third person.
3. The communication was wrongful.

Communicating a threat to use an explosive, etc.

1. The accused communicated certain language.
2. The language amounted to a threat.
3. The harm threatened was to be done by means of an explosive; a weapon of mass destruction; a biological or chemical agent, substance, or weapon; or a hazardous material.
4. The communication was wrongful.

Communicating a false threat concerning use of an explosive, etc.

1. The accused communicated or conveyed certain information.
2. The information concerned an attempt being made, or to be made, by means of an explosive; a weapon of mass destruction; a biological or chemical agent, substance, or weapon; or a hazardous material, to unlawfully kill, injure, or intimidate a person or to unlawfully damage or destroy certain property.
3. The information was false, and the accused then knew it was false.
4. The communication was malicious.

Key rules

• A threat is a communication that a reasonable person would understand as expressing a present determination or intent to wrongfully injure the person, property, or reputation of another, presently or in the future. The Government need not prove the accused actually intended to carry it out.
• Wrongfulness turns on the accused’s own mental state: under the Manual, it is satisfied if the accused transmitted the communication for the purpose of issuing a threat, or knowing it would be viewed as a threat. A statement shown by the circumstances to be in jest, or for an innocent or legitimate purpose, is not wrongful, and a mere statement of intent to commit an unlawful act that does not involve a threat is not this offense.
• A false threat is malicious if the accused believed it would probably interfere with the peaceful use of the property concerned, or would cause fear or concern to one or more persons.
• The Manual defines explosive, weapon of mass destruction, biological agent, chemical agent, substance, or weapon, and hazardous material in detail; hazardous materials include those designated by the Secretary of Transportation.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment.

• Threats and false threats generally: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 3 years.
• Threats and false threats concerning use of explosives, etc.: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 10 years.

Sentencing parameters. Threats and false threats generally, Category 2 (1–36 months). Threats and false threats concerning explosives, etc., Category 3 (30–120 months).

The newer sentencing rules apply, subject to the capital-case rules, when the accused is convicted only of offenses committed after 27 December 2023. See How UCMJ Sentencing Rules Apply. The maximum authorized punishment and the applicable sentencing framework do not predict the sentence in a particular case.

Related and Distinguished

Article 115 punishes the communication itself; the threatened act need not be attempted. An assault under Article 128 requires an attempt or offer to do bodily harm, and Article 127 addresses threats made to obtain something of value or an advantage. A threat made to retaliate against a person for reporting an offense may also be addressed by Article 132.

What the Provision Does

Article 115 punishes the communication of a threat itself; the threatened act need not be carried out or attempted. Threats involving explosives, weapons of mass destruction, biological or chemical agents, or hazardous materials, including malicious false threats of that kind, carry a maximum of 10 years’ confinement, compared with 3 years for other threats.

History

The Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5427) rewrote Article 115 as communicating threats, effective January 1, 2019. The article consolidates two offenses previously charged under Article 134 — communicating a threat, and a threat or hoax designed or intended to cause panic or public fear (paragraphs 110 and 109 of the 2016 edition of the Manual). Before 2019, the Article 115 designation belonged to malingering, which is now Article 83.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 915 (Article 115, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 53
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 17 (Analysis of Punitive Articles)