NOTE 1: If convicted of only offenses committed on or after 28 December 2023, the judge shall sentence the accused in accordance with the sentencing parameters or criteria, as appropriate, or state reasons for deviating in writing. See RCM 925(c)(2), RCM 1002(a)(2), Appendices 12B (Parameter Table-Confinement Categories), 12C (Offense Category Chart), and 12D (List of Criteria Offenses), 2024 MCM.
a. MAXIMUM PUNISHMENT: DD, TF, 10 years, E-1. (Category 3)
b. SAMPLE SPECIFICATION:
In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data) did, (at/on board—location) on or about __________, wrongfully communicate certain information, to wit: __________, which language constituted a threat to harm a person or property by means of a(n) [explosive; weapon of mass destruction; biological agent, substance, or weapon; chemical agent, substance, or weapon; and/or (a) hazardous material(s)].
c. ELEMENTS:
(1) That (state the time and place alleged), the accused communicated certain language, to wit: (state the language of the threat alleged);
(2) That the information communicated amounted to a threat;
(3) That the harm threatened was to be done by means of ((an) explosive(s)) ((a) weapon(s) of mass destruction) ((a) biological or chemical agent(s), substance(s), or weapon(s)) (and) ((a) hazardous material(s)); and
(4) That the communication was wrongful.
d. DEFINITIONS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONS:
A “threat” means an expressed present determination or intent to kill or injure a person or to damage or destroy certain property presently or in the future. The communication must be one that a reasonable person would understand as expressing a present determination or intent to wrongfully injure the person or property of another person, presently or in the future. Proof that the accused actually intended to kill, injure, damage or destroy is not required.
A communication is “wrongful” if the accused transmitted it for the purpose of issuing a threat or with the knowledge that it would be viewed as a threat.
A communication is not “wrongful” if it is made under circumstances that reveal it to be in jest or for an innocent or legitimate purpose that contradicts the expressed intent to commit the act.
(“Explosive” means gunpowder, powders used for blasting, all forms of high explosives, blasting materials, fuses (other than electrical circuit breakers), detonators, and other detonating agents, smokeless powders, any explosive bomb, grenade, missile, or similar device, and any incendiary bomb or grenade, fire bomb, or similar device, and any other explosive compound, mixture, or similar material.)
(“Weapon of mass destruction” means any device, explosive or otherwise, that is intended, or has the capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of: toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors; a disease organism; or radiation or radioactivity.)
(“Biological agent” means any microorganism (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, rickettsiae or protozoa), pathogen, or infectious substance, and any naturally occurring, bioengineered, or synthesized component of any such micro-organism, pathogen, or infectious substance, whatever its origin or method of production, that is capable of causing death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a human, an animal, a plant, or another living organism; or deterioration of food, water, equipment, supplies, or materials of any kind; or deleterious alteration of the environment.)
(“A chemical agent, substance, or weapon” means a toxic chemical and its precursors or a munition or device, specifically designed to cause death or other harm through toxic properties of those chemicals that would be released as a result of the employment of such munition or device, and any equipment specifically designed for use directly in connection with the employment of such munitions or devices.)
(“Hazardous material” means a substance or material (including explosive, radioactive material, etiologic agent, flammable or combustible liquid or solid, poison, oxidizing or corrosive material, and compressed gas, or mixture thereof) or a group or class of material designated as hazardous by the Secretary of Transportation.)