So I hurt a guys feelings in the internet, he lives in North Carolina I live in Texas, he’s made several claims that he knows where I live and is going to come pay me a visit. So my question is, if hurt feelings guy shows up at my house with a weapon, what should I do? What could I do? I don’t think he will show up but you never know anymore. I don’t want to go to prison for killing the guy, but I’m too old to be fighting, which is the reason I carry.
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Welcome to the community. I have two pieces of free advice for you with the caveat that the value of free advice can be meausure in what you paid for it.
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If he made these claims and you have proof by way of documentation with screen captures, etc. I would advise you to keep those things and make a report to Law Enforcement. That way, you have a record of it being reported. It is a crime to threaten someone over the Internet or over another communication device. See here.
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Stop engaging others in social media. Get off of Facebook and Twitter (and anything else). For forums like this one, make use of the “Ignore” feature for trolls. We have several here by the way. Three of them made my list today.
Stay safe out there.
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Not a lawyer, nor am I giving legal advice, but from the viewpoint of an average person, I think if someone travels across state lines with the intent to cause you harm over some Internet trifle, and you are forced to defend yourself, it’s on them, not you. Also, people say that kind of thing all the time it seems…they know where you live, etc., but it’s usually just Internet machismo. It’s like when I take my dog to the dog park. He’ll bark his head off at the dog on the other side of the gate, but once I open it and he’s face to face with the other dog, suddenly he’s lost his ambition to fight. I don’t worry much. Just do your day to day and stay aware of your surroundings as always.
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Welcome to the family brother @Stephen309 and you are in the right place at the right time.
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@Stephen309 - we are glad you are here.
Consider why you carry and the circumstances that would force you to draw your weapon. Do those circumstances change based on whether the bad actor comes from down the street or halfway across the country?
I fall back on something that I believe I read from Mos Ayoob a few years ago (and that I spend far too much time trying to track down… with no success): “it’s not when can I draw my weapon, it’s when do I have to draw my weapon.”
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@Frank73 offers great advice in that 1st reply and it is best heeded before you do anything else. Evidence is your friend.
Your response to this guy showing up at your house should be the same as any other. If you are not expecting company, don’t open the door. Call the police. Let them know someone who threatened you online is at your door and let them handle it. Arm yourself and retreat to as safe a location as you can. As long as they are outside there is very little threat to you… as long as they stay outside. If they breach your house, then castle doctrine applies.
Your bar for when to use lethal force would remain the same as any other potential altercation. Can you adequately convince a jury that you were under an imminent threat of lethal force? If you can’t say “yes”, then don’t shoot. If you can say “yes”, then you have the option of using lethal force in return.
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Worth notifying the cops with all info you have. Hopefully they have more inportant things to do than drive/fly NC->TX. I certainly do. 
As always, be prepared and operate within the confines of the law to protect you and yours.
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There is more to the story than you are telling us but it would take at least 40 questions to know it. For example, how does Mr. Behind Hurt know your address? Reminds me of the Dr. Laura Schlessinger radio program.
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Welcome @Stephen309!
I agree with @Frank73, you should file a report and have it documented.
With regards to using your firearm in self defense, only you can make the determination on whether you are in fear for your life at that point in time.
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I would advise deleting this thread or at least erasing your comments —they could be used against you. Not a sermon just a thought.
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The answer is always more claymores.
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That’s a threat
File a report with your local police.
They most likely can’t do anything about it, but at least it’s on record.
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Great quote whoever first said it!
We want to act defensively very quickly, when needed!
Welcome aboard @Stephen309
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There are millions of trolls on the internet, who threaten people all the time. Cops will be unimpressed and annoyed if you come to them without credible explanation of how the guy can know your physical address. If you dont have this, dont even bother LE, and relax about the incident yourself.
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I think filing with your local Police Department would be the best option to start with. Threats online should be taken seriously and the police may have more resources to dig deeper into whether or not it’s a credible threat. The guy may have a record of past violence that everyday citizens don’t have access to.
I would like to add one thing to those asking how they may have gotten their address. The reality in today’s world is that all information is able to be found if you try hard enough. With everything on the internet, I would never count anything out and it is best to assume the worst, and hope for the best.
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correctamundo. A friend was recently worried about joining a well known site with her e-mail address. I quickly sent her a link to all of her personal information, available for free to anyone, including all contact info and more. Anyone can find anyone if they want to these days. It takes about 47 seconds.
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That long?
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Don’t know what caused the escalation but don’t invite / incite a welcome mat at the door.
Just politely remind the individual that not everyone is intimated with the leftist mentality forced on today’s society.
I won’t declare or deny what they get if they show up at the house.
I would screen save all communications to prove pre-meditated intent of an individual with ill intents.
Justice has many faces… some are best left undeclared!
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In addition to my comment above, it is important that we are all careful with how we communicate with others online. The rules of force are always in play, and being the innocent party is still important to the entire situation.
If someone got upset at what you said, was it something that you should have said to them, and are you 100% innocent on your end? I don’t want to imply that I believe you did anything wrong because I do not know the whole story, but starting an argument, adding insults, or even continuing a discussion that has led to personal attacks can place some of the blame at your feet. You are always 100% responsible for the comments that you leave online.
Here is a great blog article from Kevin Michalowski about watching what you say online: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/watch-what-you-say-online/
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@Tim.D_USCCA - thanks for these reminders, and the link to Mr. Michalowski’s blog.
ALL: If you’re thinking of posting something that would get you punched in the nose were you to say it in person, you need to rethink your online approach.
I have participated in online forums since the days of BBSs. I think I created my first BBS account in about 1989… and that’s not counting my CompuServe account from a bit earlier than that. I have been a moderator or administrator of various forums since about 2004. I have seen online discourse coarsen, just as we have seen broader society coarsen. The verbal vitriol has, unfortunately, kept pace with the seeming increase in societal violence.
As concealed carriers, we need to do everything we can to de-escalate dialogues online and in person. There will be times when everything we can do is not enough. It’s at that time that “when I have to draw” comes into play.
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