Threatening the President

Despite the federal statute providing tough sanctions for those who threaten the President's person, more and more people seem to do it. From 2,400 reported threats in 1965, the number rose to 12,800 last year; in 1970, it will probably reach 15,000. Now Secret Service agents have another reason to be nervous. A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, divided two to one, has narrowed the grounds for conviction. The majority opinion, written by Judge J. Braxton Craven Jr., held that a threat to the President could lead to a verdict of guilty "only if made with the present intention to do injury to the President."

The court reversed the conviction of Ronald Patillo, a security guard at the Norfolk naval shipyard. Craven agreed that Patillo had uttered a true threat. However, said the judge, the element of "willfulness" was lacking. According to another guard, Patillo had said: "I'm going to kill President Nixon, and I'm going to Washington to do it." Nonetheless, Craven termed the conviction a danger to First Amendment rights. "Americans nurtured upon the concept of free speech," he said, "are not accustomed to controlling their tongues to avoid criminal indictment." Craven noted that the court might take a different view of a defendant's free-speech rights if, unlike Patillo, he had attempted to communicate directly with the President.

Justice Department attorneys were quick to condemn Craven's decision. "This guts the statute," said one. Therefore the Justice Department is considering an appeal of Craven's ruling.

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