If you have been threaded violently or been targeted in a violent attempt, you are a victim of assault. Legally speaking, assault is any action taken against a person that poses to them the threat of violent injury. In a case of assault, the accused must first show ability to carry out the action. A case where a person threatens another, but the threat was clearly impossible, therefore might not be considered in court. For example, a person stating their intent to kill someone with a car but does not have a car, has not committed assault. Another legal requirement for assault is intent — that the accused really did mean to instill fear or emotional anguish into the victim through his actions. In any case, the accused need not have actually committed the crime to be guilty. This is in contrast to battery, which is the actual carrying out of an attack to injure another person.