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 threat stemmed from reactions to 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," which discussed a student's paper arguing that the Constitution's framers intended "We the People" to refer exclusively to white people.

The government argued 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 meet the legal standard for a true threat. The dismissal referenced precedent noting that mere wishes or hopes for harm do not constitute threats unless accompanied by an indication of intent to act. For example, a 1945 case stated that saying someone "should or ought to kill the President" without intent to act is not a threat. Similarly, a 2011 case affirmed dismissal of an indictment where a statement was hypothetical and conditional, not threatening harm to any individual.

The Third Circuit noted that while a wish can constitute a threat in the right context, a reasonable jury could only find a true threat if the defendant was prepared to commit the act himself, which was not established here.

This case highlights the legal challenges in distinguishing protected speech from punishable threats, especially when ambiguous language is involved.

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