Threats or Harassment of Protected Officials
Knowingly and willfully threatening a protected official or family member with death or serious bodily harm, or harassing a protected official with intent to intimidate or coerce a lawful duty.
Florida Statute
§ 836.12
Threats or harassment
Verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes: September 13, 2026
Quick Summary
The statute covers law-enforcement officers and other listed protected officials. A first threat is a first-degree misdemeanor; a second or later threat is a third-degree felony. Harassment to intimidate or coerce a lawful duty is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Classification Matrix
Use this as a quick classification reference. Specific facts, statutory circumstances, and charging allegations may affect the applicable result.
Initial Threat of Death or Serious Bodily Harm
F.S. § 836.12(2)(a)
Knowingly and willfully threatening a protected official or qualifying family member with death or serious bodily harm.
Second or Subsequent Threat
F.S. § 836.12(2)(b)
A second or later violation of the statute's threat provision.
Harassment To Intimidate or Coerce Lawful Duty
F.S. § 836.12(3)
Knowingly and willfully harassing a protected official with intent to intimidate or coerce performance or nonperformance of a lawful duty.
Elements of the Offense
Elements of the Offense
Elements marked AND are cumulative. Elements marked OR identify statutory alternatives; one applicable alternative must be established when that theory is charged. Conditional elements apply only to the identified statutory track.
- Element 1AND — Required
Threat track — required
For the threat track, the defendant knowingly and willfully threatened a protected official or listed family member with death or serious bodily harm.
Plain language: The defendant intentionally made a death or serious-bodily-harm threat to a protected person or qualifying family member.
- Element 2Conditional
Harassment track — required
For the harassment track, the defendant knowingly and willfully harassed a protected official with intent to intimidate or coerce that person to perform or refrain from performing a lawful duty.
Plain language: The defendant intentionally harassed a protected official to influence a lawful duty.
Jury Instructions
Jury Instructions
Instruction 8.22(a)
Threat to Kill or Do Serious Bodily Harm to a Public Official or Family Member
Covers the threat track and any charged prior violation under F.S. § 836.12(2).
View Official InstructionVerified against the official instruction source: September 13, 2026
Instruction 8.22(b)
Harassing a Public Official With Intent to Affect a Lawful Duty
Covers the harassment track under F.S. § 836.12(3).
View Official InstructionVerified against the official instruction source: September 13, 2026
Important Definitions
Important Definitions
Protected persons
The statute lists law-enforcement officers, state attorneys and assistants, firefighters, judges and specified court personnel, elected officials, and qualifying family members for the threat track; the harassment track applies to the listed official recipients.
Additional Notes
Additional Notes
Quick Reference
Separate the death-or-serious-bodily-harm threat track from the harassment-to-intimidate-or-coerce track. A second or later threat violation is a third-degree felony; the initial threat and harassment tracks are first-degree misdemeanors.