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Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 21-5415 (2026)

Criminal threat; aggravated criminal threat

✓ current as of May 2026
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21-5415. Criminal threat; aggravated criminal threat. (a) A criminal threat is any threat to:

(1) Commit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear, or to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities of any building, place of assembly or facility of transportation, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such fear or evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities;

(2) adulterate or contaminate any food, raw agricultural commodity, beverage, drug, animal feed, plant or public water supply; or

(3) expose any animal in this state to any contagious or infectious disease.

(b) Aggravated criminal threat is the commission of a criminal threat, as defined in subsection (a), when a public, commercial or industrial building, place of assembly or facility of transportation is evacuated, locked down or disrupted as to regular, ongoing activities as a result of the threat.

(c) (1) A criminal threat is a severity level 9, person felony.

(2) Aggravated criminal threat is a severity level 5, person felony.

(d) As used in this section, "threat" includes any statement that one has committed any action described by subsection (a).

History: L. 2010, ch. 136, § 50; July 1, 2011.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 93 cases (72 in the last 5 years), 2016–2026 · leading case: State v. Boettger, 450 P.3d 805 (Kan. 2019).
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State v. Boettger, 450 P.3d 805 (Kan. 2019). · cites it 13× “ANALYSIS The three issues before this court all relate to Kansas' criminal threat statute, K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a). There, the Legislature defined "criminal threat" to include a threat to "(1) [c]ommit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear .”
State v. White, 384 P.3d 13 (Kan. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 22× “010; (3) K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) is unconstitutionally vague; and (4) K.”
State v. Hirsh, 446 P.3d 472 (Kan. 2019). · cites it 4× “K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415 (identical wording; "[a] criminal threat is any threat").”
State v. Johnson, 450 P.3d 790 (Kan. 2019). · cites it 5× “The provision in K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1), allowing for a conviction if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear, is unconstitutionally overbroad because it punishes conduct that is constitutionally protected under some circumstances.”
State v. Lindemuth, 470 P.3d 1279 (Kan. 2020). · cites it 6× “The provision in K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1), allowing for a conviction if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear, is unconstitutionally overbroad because it punishes conduct that is constitutionally protected under some circumstances.”
State v. Louis, 476 P.3d 837 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 5× “1956 (2020), the portion of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) proscribing criminal threat if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear is unconstitutionally overbroad because it can apply to statements made without the intent to cause fear of violence.”
State v. Stevenson, 478 P.3d 781 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 5× “While the Boettger court held the 2018 version of reckless criminal threat unconstitutional, the 2015 version of reckless criminal threat is the same in relevant part and is also unconstitutional.”
Kansas v. Boettger, 140 S. Ct. 1956 (2020). “" Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5415 (a)(1) (2018). Respondent Timothy Boettger was convicted for telling the son of a police detective that he " 'was going to end up finding [his] dad in a ditch.”
State v. Reynolds, 552 P.3d 1 (Kan. 2024). “21- 5412(b)(a) (aggravated assault is a severity level seven, person felony); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) (criminal threat is a severity level nine, person felony).”
State v. Rankin, 489 P.3d 471 (Kan. Ct. App. 2021). “In October 2019, while Rankins' direct appeal was pending, the Kansas Supreme Court held "the portion of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) allowing for a conviction if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear causes the statute to be unconstitutionally…”
State v. Self (Kan. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 11× “at 822, held that the portion of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415 26 criminalizing reckless criminal threat is unconstitutional.”
State v. Travelbee (Kan. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 11× “" Travelbee points out that K.S.A. 21-5415 does not define "lock down" and no Kansas appellate court has interpreted that term in the context of aggravated criminal threat.”
Show all 93 citing cases →
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(a) — 9 cases
State v. Hirsh, 446 P.3d 472 (Kan. 2019). “K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415 (identical wording; "[a] criminal threat is any threat").”
State v. Boettger, 450 P.3d 805 (Kan. 2019). “ANALYSIS The three issues before this court all relate to Kansas' criminal threat statute, K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a). There, the Legislature defined "criminal threat" to include a threat to "(1) [c]ommit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear .”
State v. Jackson (Kan. Ct. App. 2021).
State v. Self (Kan. Ct. App. 2025). “at 822, held that the portion of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415 26 criminalizing reckless criminal threat is unconstitutional.”
State v. Travelbee (Kan. Ct. App. 2026). “" Travelbee points out that K.S.A. 21-5415 does not define "lock down" and no Kansas appellate court has interpreted that term in the context of aggravated criminal threat.”
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(a)(1) — 77 cases
State v. Boettger, 450 P.3d 805 (Kan. 2019). “ANALYSIS The three issues before this court all relate to Kansas' criminal threat statute, K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a). There, the Legislature defined "criminal threat" to include a threat to "(1) [c]ommit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear .”
State v. White, 384 P.3d 13 (Kan. Ct. App. 2016). “010; (3) K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) is unconstitutionally vague; and (4) K.”
State v. Johnson, 450 P.3d 790 (Kan. 2019). “The provision in K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1), allowing for a conviction if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear, is unconstitutionally overbroad because it punishes conduct that is constitutionally protected under some circumstances.”
State v. Lindemuth, 470 P.3d 1279 (Kan. 2020). “The provision in K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1), allowing for a conviction if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear, is unconstitutionally overbroad because it punishes conduct that is constitutionally protected under some circumstances.”
State v. Louis, 476 P.3d 837 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). “1956 (2020), the portion of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) proscribing criminal threat if a threat of violence is made in reckless disregard for causing fear is unconstitutionally overbroad because it can apply to statements made without the intent to cause fear of violence.”
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(a)(1)(c)(1) — 1 case
State v. Howell (Kan. Ct. App. 2022).
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(a)(l) — 3 cases
State v. White, 384 P.3d 13 (Kan. Ct. App. 2016). “010; (3) K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) is unconstitutionally vague; and (4) K.”
State v. McCullough (Kan. Ct. App. 2021).
State v. Blackman (Kan. Ct. App. 2024).
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(b) — 2 cases
State v. White, 384 P.3d 13 (Kan. Ct. App. 2016). “010; (3) K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-5415(a)(1) is unconstitutionally vague; and (4) K.”
State v. Travelbee (Kan. Ct. App. 2026). “" Travelbee points out that K.S.A. 21-5415 does not define "lock down" and no Kansas appellate court has interpreted that term in the context of aggravated criminal threat.”
— K.S.A. § 21-5415(c)(1) — 1 case
State v. Judkins (Kan. Ct. App. 2020).
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