Everyone has said something in anger they did not mean. In Texas, some of those things are crimes by themselves, and all of them are evidence. Brian Foley, who prosecuted family-violence cases in Galveston County, explains in this video.
Words that are crimes
Texas Penal Code § 22.07, terroristic threat, makes it an offense to threaten violence with the intent to place a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. "I'll kill you," "I'm going to beat you," or "I'll shoot you" during an argument fits the statute. It is a Class B misdemeanor — and a Class A when directed at a family member. Threats to damage property, disrupt public services, or cause fear in a group are felonies. The State does not have to prove you meant it; it has to prove you intended the person to be afraid.
Words that prove intent
In an assault case, the State must prove you intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused injury. A threat made minutes before the contact is the cleanest proof of intent there is — it defeats a claim of accident and undercuts self-defense. Complainants remember the words; neighbors hear them through walls; Ring cameras record them.
Words that violate orders
After an arrest, a no-contact bond condition or protective order is in place. An angry text or call to the complainant — even one they answer — is a new offense and a revoked bond.
Defending the words
Context matters. A statement made in a mutual, heated exchange where neither party feared anything is different from a threat delivered in a quiet voice. Conditional statements ("if you touch me again, I'll...") are often self-defense warnings, not threats. And the credibility of the person reporting the words is the whole case. As former prosecutors, Brian Foley and Luis Baez know how thin many of these cases are once the recording is reviewed.
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