It is a criminal offense to communicate with or threaten a person with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the person. Criminal harassment may take many forms, and may be classified as the criminal offense of stalking, cyberbullying, or hate crimes—depending on the applicable state or federal law.

Laws vary from state to state, but a person generally commits a crime if, with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person:

• initiates communication and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;

• threatens to inflict bodily injury or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the person’s family or household, or the person’s property in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person;

• communicates a false report (that the communicator knows is false) that another person has suffered death or serious bodily injury, and does so in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the report;

• causes the telephone number of another person to ring repeatedly, or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another;

• makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to hang up or disengage the connection;

• knowingly permits a telephone under the person’s control to be used by another to harass someone;

• sends repeated electronic communications in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another person.

The offense of criminal harassment is different from sexual or other harassment that may occur in the workplace, for example, and that is prohibited by state and federal law. Harassment in the workplace generally incurs potential civil liability (money damages in a lawsuit) but not criminal charges—unless the conduct is sufficiently egregious to constitute criminal harassment.

In Illinois, criminal harassment is addressed under various statutes, including those against stalking, cyberstalking, and harassment through electronic communications. Under Illinois law, a person commits the offense of harassment through electronic communications if they use electronic communication for the purpose of threatening, intimidating, or harassing another person with no legitimate purpose. This includes making obscene proposals, threatening bodily harm or property damage, making false reports of death or injury, causing phones to ring repeatedly, failing to disconnect a call, allowing one's phone to be used for harassment, and sending repeated electronic communications to harass. These actions are considered a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class A misdemeanor for subsequent offenses. Additionally, stalking and cyberstalking are separate offenses that involve following or surveilling a person, or using electronic communications to cause emotional distress, fear for safety, or to disrupt daily activities, which can be charged as felonies depending on the circumstances. Hate crimes, which include harassment based on race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, are also criminal offenses in Illinois and carry enhanced penalties. It's important to distinguish criminal harassment from workplace harassment, which may lead to civil liability rather than criminal charges unless it rises to the level of criminal conduct.