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 Missouri, criminal harassment is addressed under Missouri Revised Statutes Section 565.090, which defines harassment in the first degree. A person commits this offense if he or she, without good cause, engages in any act with the purpose to cause emotional distress to another person. This can include knowingly communicating any threat to commit any felony, making any obscene or indecent communication, or knowingly frightening, intimidating, or causing emotional distress to another person. Additionally, Missouri law addresses stalking under Section 565.225, where a person commits the offense by purposely, through their conduct, harassing or following another with the intent of causing emotional distress. Cyberbullying is also a concern and is addressed in Missouri's anti-bullying laws, which include electronic communications as a form of bullying that schools must prohibit and address. Hate crimes are covered under Section 557.035, where offenses are enhanced when motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim. It's important to note that while workplace harassment can lead to civil liability, it may also constitute criminal harassment if it meets the statutory criteria for criminal conduct.