Bill > HB1420

This bill amends Mississippi's existing Terroristic Threats Law by specifically increasing penalties for terroristic threats made against airports. Under the current law, making a terroristic threat is already a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, with the offense defined as making a threat of violence that causes reasonable fear and is intended to intimidate a population or influence government policy. The new bill adds a distinct provision that if a terroristic threat is specifically made against an airport, the offender will be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. This means that airport-related terroristic threats now carry a more severe mandatory minimum sentence compared to general terroristic threats. The bill will go into effect on July 1, 2025, giving state law enforcement and judicial systems time to prepare for the new sentencing guidelines. The change appears designed to provide additional protection and deterrence for airport security by imposing stricter criminal penalties for threats made in this specific context.

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https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB1420.xml