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Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 836.12 (2025)

Threats or harassment.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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836.12 Threats or harassment.—
(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Administrative assistant” means a court employee assigned to the office of a specific general or special magistrate or a child support enforcement hearing officer.
(b) “Family member” means:
1. An individual related to another individual by blood or marriage; or
2. An individual who stands in loco parentis to another individual.
(c) “Judicial assistant” means a court employee assigned to the office of a specific judge or justice responsible for providing administrative, secretarial, and clerical support to the assigned judge or justice.
(d) “Law enforcement officer” means:
1. A law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10; or
2. A federal law enforcement officer as defined in s. 901.1505.
(2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), any person who knowingly and willfully threatens a law enforcement officer, a state attorney, an assistant state attorney, a firefighter, a judge, a justice, a general magistrate, a special magistrate, a child support enforcement hearing officer, an administrative assistant, a judicial assistant, a clerk of the court, clerk personnel, or an elected official, or a family member of any such person, with death or serious bodily harm commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(b) A person who commits a second or subsequent violation of paragraph (a) commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(3) Any person who knowingly and willfully harasses a law enforcement officer, a state attorney, an assistant state attorney, a firefighter, a judge, a justice, a general magistrate, a special magistrate, a child support enforcement hearing officer, an administrative assistant, a judicial assistant, a clerk of the court, clerk personnel, or an elected official, with the intent to intimidate or coerce such a person to perform or refrain from performing a lawful duty, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
History.—s. 3, ch. 2016-156; s. 1, ch. 2023-194; s. 1, ch. 2025-126.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 836.12

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9804M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9800M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9801M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9807M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9805M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9803M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDM · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9806M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9809M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDM · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9802M · 1st
§836.12(2)INTIMIDATIONRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9808M · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONHARASS LEO/ST ATTY/ASA COERCE/INTIMIDATEM · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONHARASS ELECTED OFFICIAL COERCE/INTIMIDATEM · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONHARASS CLERK/COURT PERSONNEL COERCE/INTIMIDATEM · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONHARASS JUDGE/MAGIS/COURT OFF COERCE/INTIMIDATEM · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONHARASS FIREFIGHTER COERCE/INTIMIDATEM · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(3)INTIMIDATIONREMOVEDF · 3rd
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM JUDGE/MAGIS/COURT OFFICIALM · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM ELECTED OFFICIALM · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM CLERK/COURT PERSONNELM · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM FIREFIGHTERM · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM LEO/ST ATTY/ASAM · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2a)INTIMIDATIONREMOVED.M · 1st
§836.12(2b)INTIMIDATIONTHREATEN DEATH/HARM 836.12 PERSON 2ND/SUBSQM · 1st
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2017–2025 · leading case: In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-06, 217 So. 3d 965 (Fla. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-06, 217 So. 3d 965 (Fla. 2017). · cites it 15× “§ 836.12(2), Fla. Stat. (2016). With regard to instruction 8.”
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2016-06 – Corrected Opinion (Fla. 2017). · cites it 19× “§ 836.12(1)(a), Fla. Stat. “Family member” means: 1.”
Ventura Gomez v. State (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). · cites it 10× “ANALYSIS As due process was clearly afforded below, we focus our review on whether, in upholding section 836.12, Florida Statutes, the circuit court departed from clearly established constitutional law.”
T.r.w., a Child v. State of Florida (Fla. 4th DCA 2023). · cites it 3× “In considering mens rea in a similar statute, section 836.12, Florida Statutes (2021), the Third District concluded that the intent component must be read into the statute.”
Jones v. State of Florida (Fla. 2d DCA 2025). · cites it 2× “Section 836.12(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2023), provides that it is unlawful to willfully and knowingly threaten a law enforcement officer with death or serious bodily harm.”
— 836.12(1)(a) — 1 case
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2016-06 – Corrected Opinion (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(1)(a), Fla. Stat. “Family member” means: 1.”
— 836.12(1)(b) — 1 case
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2016-06 – Corrected Opinion (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(1)(a), Fla. Stat. “Family member” means: 1.”
— 836.12(2) — 4 cases
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-06, 217 So. 3d 965 (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(2), Fla. Stat. (2016). With regard to instruction 8.”
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2016-06 – Corrected Opinion (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(1)(a), Fla. Stat. “Family member” means: 1.”
Ventura Gomez v. State (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). “ANALYSIS As due process was clearly afforded below, we focus our review on whether, in upholding section 836.12, Florida Statutes, the circuit court departed from clearly established constitutional law.”
T.r.w., a Child v. State of Florida (Fla. 4th DCA 2023). “In considering mens rea in a similar statute, section 836.12, Florida Statutes (2021), the Third District concluded that the intent component must be read into the statute.”
— 836.12(2)(a) — 1 case
Jones v. State of Florida (Fla. 2d DCA 2025). “Section 836.12(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2023), provides that it is unlawful to willfully and knowingly threaten a law enforcement officer with death or serious bodily harm.”
— 836.12(3) — 2 cases
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-06, 217 So. 3d 965 (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(2), Fla. Stat. (2016). With regard to instruction 8.”
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2016-06 – Corrected Opinion (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(1)(a), Fla. Stat. “Family member” means: 1.”
— 836.12(l)(b) — 1 case
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-06, 217 So. 3d 965 (Fla. 2017). “§ 836.12(2), Fla. Stat. (2016). With regard to instruction 8.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

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