A defendant was charged with one count of transmission of an interstate threat to injure or kill another person under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) for posting an online comment stating, "I wish someone would in alive him." The indictment did not specify where the comment was posted, to whom it was directed, or the identity of the referenced "him." However, a search warrant affidavit identified the target as United States District Court Judge John L. Badalamenti.

Judge Badalamenti, an adjunct professor at the University of Florida who taught a seminar on originalism in fall 2024, contacted the United States Marshals Service for the Middle District of Florida on June 22, 2025. The contact followed a threat linked to reactions from a June 21, 2025 New York Times article titled "A White Nationalist Wrote a Law School Paper Promoting Racist Views, It won Him an Award." The article discussed a student paper arguing that the Constitution's framers intended "We the People" to refer exclusively to white people.

The government argued that the phrase "in alive him" was a typographical error meant to say "unalive him," implying a threat to kill. However, the court dismissed the indictment, concluding as a matter of law that the post did not constitute a true threat under the statute. The ruling referenced precedent that mere wishes or hopes for harm, without indication of intent to act, do not amount to punishable threats. For example, the court cited a 1945 case noting that saying someone "should or ought to kill the President" without intent does not qualify as a threat.

The Third Circuit also reasoned that while a wish could constitute a threat in the right context, a reasonable jury could find that the defendant was prepared to commit the act himself only if additional threatening context was present. In this case, such context was lacking.

This decision highlights the legal distinction between protected speech and punishable threats under U.S. law.

Sources

Reason: Posting "I Wish Someone Would In Alive Him" About Federal Judge Isn't Punishable Threat