Reddit-linked stalking and harassment cases

The federal stalking statute is 18 U.S.C. § 2261A. Its second paragraph addresses conduct carried out by means of the mail, an interactive computer service, an electronic communication service, or an electronic communication system of interstate commerce, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce. It applies where a person, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with intent to do so, engages in a course of conduct that places the target in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to the target, an immediate family member, or a spouse or intimate partner.

The phrase course of conduct is central: section 2266 defines it as a pattern of conduct composed of two or more acts, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Prosecutions under this statute therefore turn on the pattern shown by messages, account records, and other evidence, rather than on any single communication. Courts have also had to consider how the statute interacts with protected speech, which is part of why charging documents set out the alleged pattern in detail.

U.S. states have their own stalking and harassment statutes, with different definitions and penalties, and cases can be prosecuted at the state level. Cases outside the United States follow the law of the prosecuting country. This overview is general information and not legal advice, and it is not a statement about the guilt of any person listed on this page.

A case appears under stalking and harassment only where there is a documented Reddit nexus. That means the defendant used Reddit to commit, coordinate, advertise, or first draw law-enforcement attention to the offence, or that a Reddit CyberTip, a subpoena response, or a direct report to the police or the FBI produced the charge. The bar is deliberately strict. A widely reported case is excluded unless the Reddit connection is documented in the charging papers, court records, or contemporaneous reporting; simply holding a Reddit account is not enough, and incidents that actually ran through Discord, Telegram, or other platforms are left out rather than stretched to fit.

The status shown on each entry reflects the newest official document the tracker has located, such as an indictment, a plea agreement, a verdict, or a sentencing judgment, and it can lag behind later developments. A status of charged records an accusation only: a charge is not a finding of guilt, and every person charged is presumed innocent unless and until convicted or until they plead guilty. Entries marked charged are therefore labelled as alleged. Victims are never named, and where a victim is described at all the description is limited to what is needed to understand the charge. If an entry is out of date, incomplete, or wrong, use the corrections page to report it.

This category is limited to cases whose central allegation is stalking or a sustained harassment campaign. Cases whose central allegation is a specific threat, the publication of private information, the sharing of intimate images, or extortion are listed in the matching category instead. Each case carries a single category, so a matter involving several kinds of conduct is listed on only one hub.

Report an error or request a change on the corrections page. The full tracker, with every category, is on Criminal Cases & Convictions.