A. Any person (i) who makes and communicates to another by any means any threat to bomb, burn, destroy or in any manner damage any place of assembly, building or other structure, or any means of transportation, or (ii) who communicates to another, by any means, information, knowing the same to be false, as to the existence of any peril of bombing, burning, destruction or damage to any such place of assembly, building or other structure, or any means of transportation, is guilty of a Class 5 felony, provided, however, that if such person is under 15 years of age, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Attorney's Note

Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class 5 felonyup to 10 yearsup to $2,500
Class 1 misdemeanorup to 12 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Va. Code § 18.2-10 and Va. Code § 18.2-11

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Terms Used In Virginia Code 18.2-83

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230

B. A violation of this section may be prosecuted either in the jurisdiction from which the communication was made or in the jurisdiction where the communication was received.

Code 1950, §§ 18.1-78.1 through 18.2-78.4; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1982, c. 502; 2020, c. 1002; 2022, c. 336.