In United States v. Dennis , 132 F.4th 214 (2d Cir. 2025), an appeal following a trial at which the defendant represented himself pro se , the Second Circuit ( Raggi , Wesley, and Kahn) clarified the extent of evidence sufficient to prove “true threats” by affirming two of the Defendant’s counts of conviction while reversing a third. In doing so, the Court drew focus to the context of the statements—rather than “magic” words—in discerning whether the evidence established true threats as necessary to comport with the First Amendment.

Background

On March 24, 2023, Defendant-Appellant Willie Dennis was convicted on three counts of cyberstalking committed by sending repeated abusive electronic communications. Dennis, an attorney, was ousted from the law firm K&L Gates LLP’s (“K&L”)

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