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Metro Atlanta Terroristic Threats Defense Lawyers
If you or your child is facing a terroristic threats charge in the Atlanta area, a Metro Atlanta terroristic threats defense lawyer can help you understand the charge and protect what comes next. Many of these cases start with words, not actions. A text, a social media post, or a comment at school can lead to a very serious charge.
Most of the people we help are in their teens and twenties, and many of these calls come from a parent. You may be worried, and you may have questions no one has answered yet.
Our law firm has been defending people in their teens and twenties since 2007, and it is the focus of our practice. We have helped more than a thousand families bring clarity and a plan to a stressful situation. We serve families across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, and we start by giving you a clear read on where the case stands.
The name makes it sound like a charge about terrorism. In practice, it is much broader. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-37, a terroristic threat is a threat to do one of three things:
The words alone are not enough. The state also has to prove the purpose behind them. That means showing the person meant to terrorize someone, cause a building or public place to be evacuated, or cause serious public inconvenience. Alternatively, a threat made in reckless disregard of the risk of causing terror, evacuation, or inconvenience can also be charged.
That last part matters a lot for young people. A post meant as a joke can still lead to a charge if the state claims the person ignored how it would be taken.
It can be either one.
A terroristic act is a separate offense. It involves conduct rather than words, such as using a weapon or releasing a hazardous substance to frighten people. It is always a felony. Threats or acts aimed at a witness, a judge, or someone who reported a crime carry steeper penalties.
A charge filed as a felony does not always stay one. What the state can prove often looks different from what it first alleged. Our misdemeanor defense page explains how misdemeanor cases move through Georgia courts.
Georgia passed House Bill 268 in 2025, and it took effect on April 28, 2025. The law created two school-specific offenses under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181.1.
The grading follows a familiar pattern. A threat of a school is a misdemeanor unless it suggested someone’s death, which makes it a felony. A terroristic act upon a school is always a felony. For a child 13 to 17, a terroristic act upon a school will start as a prosecution in superior court, which is adult court.
The same law changed what schools do. A threat of death or serious injury to a group of people at a public school can also count as disrupting the school, which is its own charge. While a school investigates a threat, it may move a student to remote learning and provide counseling. You can read the full text of House Bill 268 from the Governor’s office.
In Georgia, a person is treated as an adult for criminal purposes at 17, for every charge.
When a threat happens at school, there are often two cases at once. The court case runs in one place, and the school discipline case runs in another. What a student says in one can matter in the other. Our school tribunal page covers the school side. For college students, our college and campus defense page explains how a campus process can overlap with a court case.
Many of these charges start on a phone. A group chat, a gaming chat, a story post, or a direct message can all be the source.
Context matters a great deal. Who actually saw the message? Was it sent to the person named in it? Was it part of a running joke between friends? A single screenshot can leave out the messages before and after it.
Deleting posts after the fact rarely helps and can create new problems. A better step is to stop posting about it, keep what exists, and let a legal team review it.
Being charged is not the same as being convicted. The starting point is not a plea. It is whether the state can prove the charge and whether its evidence was gathered lawfully.
Making the state prove every part of the charge. The state has to prove more than the words themselves. It has to prove the purpose behind them, or a reckless disregard of how they would land. Georgia law also has a built-in safeguard. No one can be convicted of a terroristic threat based only on the word of the person who received it. Something else has to back that account up.
Testing how the evidence was gathered. How the state got its evidence matters as much as what the evidence is. Phones are often searched in these cases, and statements are often taken from students at school. If a search or an interview was not handled lawfully, some of that evidence may be challenged or kept out.
If challenging the case is not the full answer, or another path better fits your goals, there are options that can keep a charge from becoming a conviction.
Reducing the charge. A felony threat may be resolved as a misdemeanor or as a less serious offense. Mitigation can play a role here, including who the young person is and the steps they have taken since.
Negotiating a pretrial diversion program. Some Georgia courts offer pretrial diversion. An eligible person completes set terms, such as classes or community service, and the charge is dismissed at the end. Availability and terms vary from one court to the next.
Using First Offender, where it fits. Under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60, an eligible first-time offender can enter a plea, complete the sentence, and be discharged without a conviction. It requires a guilty or nolo plea up front, it can be used only once, and the judge has the final say.
In juvenile court, the options look different, and some cases can be resolved without a formal finding of delinquency. Which path fits depends on your goals, the evidence, the charge, the person’s history, and the court. We work through the choices with you and recommend an approach built around your goals.
A conviction can follow a young person long after the case is over. Because the charge sounds so serious, the words “terroristic threat” on a background check can weigh heavily with schools and employers who never see the full story behind them. Depending on the offense, a conviction can affect college admissions and financial aid, a student’s standing at their current school, jobs, and, for anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, their immigration status. A felony conviction can also affect the right to own or possess a firearm. These lasting effects are a big part of why the goal is so often to avoid a conviction in the first place, not simply to manage a sentence.
An adult arrest can never be removed from an official criminal history, but who can see it can be limited. This depends on how the case ends. A case that is dismissed, or resolved and discharged under the First Offender Act, is generally eligible to be restricted, which limits who can see it. A conviction is harder to clear, and whether it qualifies depends on the charge. You can learn more on our record restriction page.
Your defense starts with you. We work to understand your goals, your situation, and what a good outcome looks like for your family. We do not apply a one-size-fits-all formula. If we decide to work together, we take time to learn about the young person and where they want to go, then we work with you to develop a plan and recommend a path forward.
From there, the legal work is ours to carry. We look at who received the alleged threat, what else supports their account, and whether statements were obtained. If phones are involved, we’ll seek to get an understanding of the entire context of the conversation as well as the legality of any search of a phone. What we recommend depends on those answers, not on a standard script, and we keep you in the loop along the way.
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be the best person they can be, without the judgment that can follow a terroristic threats charge. That belief is the reason we do this work.
When we take a case, we keep you informed, we prepare the young person for court, and we keep the plan centered on your goals.
A consultation runs both ways. You get a clear sense of your options, and we get enough detail to decide with you whether we are a good fit for the case. We do not take every matter that contacts us, and part of the value of the conversation is finding that out together.
One caution as you compare firms. If a firm offers to put an attorney on the phone the moment you call, that is worth a second thought. Part of giving your case focused attention means not dropping another client’s work to chase a new call. That is why we schedule time so the person you speak with can focus on you.
Our legal team helps families throughout Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, including these counties:
Bartow County, Carroll County, Cherokee County, Clayton County, Cobb County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Fayette County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, Paulding County, and Pickens County.
Can someone be charged for something said as a joke?
Yes, it can happen. The law covers threats made in reckless disregard of how they will be taken. Whether a joke meets that standard depends on the exact words and the full context, and that is often where these cases turn.
Does the person have to actually mean the threat?
The state does not have to show the person planned to carry it out. It does have to prove the purpose behind the words, or a reckless disregard of the risk they created.
Can someone be convicted based only on the other person’s word?
No. Georgia law does not allow a conviction for a terroristic threat based only on the testimony of the person who received it. The state needs other evidence to back that account up.
Is a terroristic threat a felony in Georgia?
It is generally a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony when the threat suggests someone’s death, and a terroristic act is always a felony.
Will a threat at school affect my child’s place at school?
The school process is separate from the court case and follows its own rules. A school may move a student to remote learning while it investigates. What happens after that depends on the school’s code of conduct and how the hearing is handled.
A terroristic threats charge is not the same as a conviction, and the words in a screenshot rarely tell the whole story. The sooner our team sees the details, the sooner we can help you understand your options and build a plan around your goals.
Schedule your consultation today.
Not ready to talk yet? Download our free guide, “5 Things Not to Do After You’ve Been Charged with a Crime,” for the early missteps to avoid.
Ghanouni Teen & Young Adult Defense Firm 691 John Wesley Dobbs Ave NE unit 225, Atlanta, GA 30312
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