When most people think of assault charges, they assume that a physical altercation took place. For example, two people might get into a drunken argument outside a bar, and one person punches the other in the face. If a police officer witnesses this, they could arrest the aggressor on assault charges.
This is true, but it doesn’t fully define how assault works. Under Texas law, you can also be charged with assault if you “intentionally or knowingly threaten another with imminent bodily injury.”
In other words, the mere threat of injury is often enough to face assault charges. If the other person has a genuine concern for their safety or even their life, you could still be arrested. You may argue that you never touched them, so it can’t be assault, but the threat alone has already crossed the legal threshold.
How do you know if the threat was credible?
A key factor in these cases is whether the other person had a genuine fear for their safety. Not all threats are treated equally under the law.
To determine this, the police will examine various factors. For example, there may be a significant physical difference between you and the other person, making them feel genuinely threatened because they believe you could harm them.
The police may also consider the involvement of weapons. For instance, if you move your coat aside to reveal a concealed firearm while making a threat—telling someone they’ll “get what’s coming to them” if they don’t leave immediately—the presence of the firearm makes the threat credible. You may argue that you never drew the gun or that it wasn’t even loaded, but this alone could be enough for the other person to say they feared for their life.
Your defense options
Because physical contact is not required for an assault charge, you could find yourself facing legal consequences without realizing you violated the law. At a time like this, it is critical to understand all of your legal defense options.