What is aggravated assault?

Aggravated assault is an assault committed with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, or with an intent to commit a felony. It's a third-degree felony.

Because assault requires no contact, this charge frequently arises from displaying a weapon during an argument. Pointing a firearm, brandishing a knife, or in some circumstances using a vehicle can produce it.

Three elements the State has to establish: an intentional threat, an apparent ability to carry it out, and a well-founded fear in the other person that violence was imminent. The fear element is objective — reasonable under the circumstances — not simply what the person says they felt.

Common defenses: that the display was defensive rather than threatening, that no threat was communicated, that the fear wasn't well-founded, or that the object wasn't a deadly weapon as used.

Florida law also addresses the threatened use of force in self-defense, which matters where a person displayed a weapon defensively.