Terms such as menacing, brandishment or brandishing refer to criminal offenses in many U.S. states which are generally defined as displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death.
Depending on the jurisdiction, degrees of offense range from a misdemeanor for first-time offenders, to low- to mid-level felonies for offenders with a prior menacing charge.
The tangentially related crime of "Menacing By Stalking" was introduced as a new charge in some states following the popularization of laws specifically targeting stalking behavior, in which a perpetrator adopts a long-term pattern of actions designed to frighten and harass a victim while still adhering to the letter of existing harassment laws.
In Idaho the law on menacing reads as follows: In New York State a person threatening another person with imminent injury without engaging in physical contact is called "menacing".
A person who engages in that behavior is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree (a Class A misdemeanor; punishable with up to one year incarceration, probation for an extended time, and a permanent criminal record) when they threaten to cause physical harm to another person, and guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree (a Class E felony) if they have a previous conviction for the same offense.