Eh, it's an ugly truth and my examples could have been less extreme.

Various circuit courts have different tests for what constitutes a true threat versus legal free speech, some of which can be found here[1].

For example, here's the 2nd Circuit's opinion:

> a true threat is “on its face and in the circumstances in which it is made is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to the person threatened, as to convey a gravity of purpose and imminent prospect of execution.”

[1] https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1025/true-threats