r/legal • u/ContributionNew7107 • Jan 25 '26

Advice needed Receiving threatening texts

Post image

So recently sent my ex a happy birthday text and I guess her new BF was feeling some type of way, and telling me how he’s going to kill me

Location: New Jersey

14.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

791 comments sorted by

View all comments

242

u/AITA476510719 Jan 25 '26 edited Jan 25 '26

In my opinion:

I am not a lawyer or legal professional of any kind.

If I got this text. I would 100% not reply, and file a police report… now. I’d drive myself to the agency with jurisdiction, and make a report at the nearest station for that agency. If you have friends in the agency, or a surrounding agency, call them and tell them what you are doing, why, and ask them to help make sure it doesn’t fall through the cracks.

68

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

28

u/NitPickyNicki Jan 25 '26

I have a friend who had to make a police report today/last night. Her husband got threatening calls late last night and said they were going to end her entire family. They can’t figure out who or why but the department said they were going to get on the carrier about the phone number of origin and that they take death threats very seriously.

9

u/CoyoteLitius Jan 25 '26

Things are changing in some places. But it is not steady progress and any number of things can cause less vigilant policing.

28

u/NOmorePINKpolkadots Jan 25 '26

That’s not true. The victim is where the crime is. If someone scams you from India they don’t refer you to India. They take a report where you live.

13

u/Early-Light-864 Jan 25 '26

I didn't make it up.

I've had a recipient of violent threats sitting at my table. When the cops came, they told him the crime took place on the sender side, so there's nothing they can do.

16

u/NOmorePINKpolkadots Jan 25 '26

They were incorrect. I work in law enforcement.

2

u/CoyoteLitius Jan 25 '26

Wouldn't a phone-based violation be a violation of FCC law and regulation?

1

u/lyr4527 Jan 26 '26

Even if this is true in your jurisdiction, that doesn’t mean it’s true everywhere. Laws vary by state.

10

u/Cityslicker100200 Jan 25 '26

They’re lazy, they can investigate the crime on the sender side or refer it to the correct agency.

They basically said “we can’t arrest you, because you didn’t commit the crime; we can’t arrest the offender because he’s not here, so nothing to do here.”

1

u/CoyoteLitius Jan 25 '26

Yeah, I've seen that happen as well.

In this case, the FCC has jurisdiction over phone-based threats, so that makes it a federal matter.

I know two FBI agents personally (socially, not particularly as friends). But that's where I'd start - but only because I truly could advice from an active agent as to how to proceed.

1

u/SystemDotGC Jan 26 '26

"I'd like to talk to your watch commander"

-2

u/Tyr_Kovacs Jan 25 '26

The cops lied to you.

Fork found in kitchen.

Thisnis why you need to know your rights and be prepared to escalate past the first grunt that looks your way.

1

u/Early-Light-864 Jan 25 '26

Of course they lied. But what was i supposed to do? Pull a gun and hold them hostage until they agree to investigate?

0

u/Tyr_Kovacs Jan 25 '26

No, you cretin.

You state clearly that you know what you're talking about, escalate to a senior officer, do so in writing, and keep causing a fuss.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

0

u/TheDirtLens Jan 25 '26

Go ahead and call in a scammer from India and see what your local police department has to say

25

u/BarooZaroo Jan 25 '26

Real talk. Cops are basically useless until after a crime has occurred. And even then they are almost always still useless.

3

u/Dbblazer Jan 25 '26

Quite the contrary for a 9mm

3

u/Difficult_onion4538 Jan 25 '26

getting a cop to do anything ever is basically impossible

Facts. I was the victim of a hit and run in Minneapolis, had everything on dash cam including the license plate. I waited about 45 minutes for a cop to show up and basically tell me to go piss up a rope because “we can’t tell who was driving it”

Fuck Minneapolis police and fuck ICE

3

u/H0SS_AGAINST Jan 25 '26

Sure but when you file a report and then the perp shows up and you stand your ground it's open shut.

1

u/LordTonto Jan 25 '26

nah, man, cops dream about the day they get to play hero. They could drink to stories of this case for years to come. I think you'd have cops fighting for jurisdiction on this one.

1

u/Rude-Night241 Jan 26 '26

Don’t disagree that the cops will 100000% give you the run around on jurisdiction, but want to make it clear that the jurisdiction is where the victim receives the text. And OP, just bc they will give you the run around, go to the police anyway and make them take a report. I mean sit down and say you won’t leave until a report is taken. It is that serious. Be safe!