“If you come after me, I’m coming after you”:
That Catchphrase Is A Clear Threat
by
Josiah M. Daniel, III
August 6, 2023
On Friday, August 4, the day after pleading not guilty to charges in federal court in Washington, DC, former president Donald J. Trump issued a nine-word message on his social media outlet called Truth Social. The statement: “If you come after me, I’m coming after you!”
I researched those nine words; they constitute a catchphrase.[1] I found that judicial decisions shed light here. My conclusion is that, read in the context of the reported case law in which it is found, the catchphrase is indisputably interpreted as a threat of violence and retribution against an adversary or opponent.
The earliest judicial decision in which I found the phrase is a 1978 Kansas criminal case, State v. Sanders,[2] an appeal from a conviction for battery, injury, and kidnapping. There was no issue of the defendant’s identity or his actions; rather the question for the appellate court was how to characterize the deeds under the criminal law. He had entered the home of the man with whom his former girlfriend had taken up residence and who had previously fathered her baby. The defendant grabbed the infant and shouted, “if you come after me, I'm going to kill your baby."[3]
Next I found a 1988 decision, Sweat v. US, [4] from the District of Columbia’s appellate court, the appeal of a defendant convicted of assaulting in public a Small Business Administration loan officer who had denied his loan application. As the officer awaited his car-pool ride, the Defendant accosted him and stated, "If I don't get my money, I'm coming after you personally," The loan officer “lost his composure” and responded in kind, “‘M----r-f----r, if you come after me, I'll kill you’ or words close to that effect.”[5]
In the 1989 Texas criminal appeal, Ex parte Freeman,[6] a judge surprisingly was the speaker of the catchphrase. The defendant had been convicted of intoxicated driving but received probation that the trial court later revoked. As appellant, the defendant claimed that, before the probation-revocation hearing, the judge was informed that appellant had threatened him, and thus, the appellant argued, the jurist did not make an unbiased decision on the evidence. The appellant testified, and witnesses confirmed, that “five minutes after the hearing, [the] Judge . . . reentered the courtroom in a rage, approached the counsel table, and told appellant he understood appellant had made a threat on his life,” stating ‘If you come after me, I'll blow your _____ away,’ and the two exchanged words.”[7]
The 1994 California criminal case People v. Sanchez,[8] featured a defendant appealing his conviction of two counts of robbery. The facts showed that “Appellant came up behind [the convenience store manager], pulled out a gun and said, "Give me the money" [and he] warned [the clerk], "[i]f you call anybody or if you come after me, I'm going to get you."[9]
Marton v. Genentech was a plaintiff’s 2020 federal-court claim for wrongful and retaliatory termination and violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act.[10] The facts showed that a company representative gave the employee “a negative performance review, which would result in significant financial consequences,” and the plaintiff “was visibly unhappy, hostile, and upset.” The representative asserted that as the meeting ended, the employee stated, “if you come after me, I'll come after you.”[11]
A 2008 Ohio case, State v. Ott, presented the appeal of a conviction for a crime of retaliation that originated in a dispute between a person accused of impersonating a police officer and the local chief of police. In an early telephone call, the defendant stated, “When someone comes after me, I go after them ten times.”[12] In the subsequent exchange, the police chief warned the defendant that the only reason policemen would enter the defendant's property would be to serve an arrest warrant. The defendant responded, “this is my personal life, so what's fair is fair. So, if you come after me personally, I'm coming after you personally. If your department comes after me personally, I'm coming after the department.”[13]
The case People v. Lawrie, presented the appeal of a conviction for murder.[14] The defendant complained of the admission into evidence of the victim’s daughter’s pretext call to the defendant in which she made the following statements: “you killed our mother;” “everyone thinks you did it;” “so help me God if you come after me or anybody else . . . . We're going to get you if you come back to town.”[15]
Last, in a 2021 case, People v. Bowles,[16] the defendant had been convicted or aggravated battery growing out of a failed drug purchase. The defendant testified that the victim “grabbed the drug money out of the defendant's hands and pulled out his knife,” and then stated "if you come after me, we're going to be fighting. I'll f*** stab you."[17]
The catchphrase “If you come after me,” followed by “I’m coming after you” or words to that effect, has a clear meaning in the factual contexts of reported case law. It is a threat of retributive violence and even death.
[1] “A frequently used or well-known phrase or slogan, typically associated with a particular group or person and serving to attract public attention or interest; esp. (a) a signature or stock phrase of an entertainer or character in a play, film, etc.; (b) a memorable or striking phrase used in an advertisement; an advertising slogan.” Oxford English Dictionary, catchphrase (Online Ed. 2018).
[2] State v. Sanders, 587 P.2d 906 (Kan. 1978).
[3] Id. at 159 (emphasis added).
[4] Sweat v. U.S., 540 A.2d 460 (D.C. App. 1988).
[5] Id. at 461 (emphasis added).
[6] Ex parte Freeman, 778 S.W. 2d 874 (Tex. App. 1989).
[7] Id. at 879 (emphasis added).
[8] People v. Sanchez, 23 Cal. App. 4th 1680 (Cal. App., 1st App. Dist., 2nd Div. 1994).
[9] Id. at 1682 (emphasis added).
[10] Marton v. Genentech USA, Inc., 2020 WL 7028036 (S.D. Ind., Nov. 30, 2020).
[11] Id. (emphasis added).
[12] State v. Ott, 2008 Ohio 4049 (Ohio Ct. App., 11th App. Dist. 2008).
[13] Id. (emphasis added).
[14] People v. Lawrie, Cal: Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate Dist., 1st Div. 2009
[15] Id. at n. 2 (emphasis added).
[16] People v. Bowles, 2021 IL App (5th) 180326 (Ill. App., 5th Dist. 2021).
[17] Id. (emphasis added).