If you are accused of threatening to kill or hurt another person, you could face criminal charges. The threat must be transmitted in some way, but it does not have to be verbal, it might be through email, text message, or even body language. In some ways, it is comparable to the crime of assault, but there are several major differences. An assault, for example, occurs when one person attempts to injure another person or uses a threat of force in conjunction with a threatening action. In contrast to a criminal threat, words alone do not constitute an assault charge. Thus, assault is a specific type of criminal threat, one that is more likely to result in serious penalties.