New Jersey § 2c:13-5

§ 2c:13-5.

Criminal Coercion. a. Offense defined. A person is guilty of criminal coercion if, with purpose unlawfully to restrict

another's freedom of action to engage or refrain from engaging in conduct, he threatens

to: (1) Inflict bodily injury on anyone or commit any other offense , regardless of the immediacy of the threat ; (2) Accuse anyone of an offense; (3) Expose any secret which would tend to subject any person to hatred, contempt or

ridicule, or to impair his credit or business repute; (4) Take or withhold action as an official, or cause an official to take or withhold

action; (5) Bring about or continue a strike, boycott or other collective action, except that

such a threat shall not be deemed coercive when the restriction compelled is demanded

in the course of negotiation for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor

acts; (6) Testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect

to another's legal claim or defense; or (7) Perform any other act which would not in itself substantially benefit the actor

but which is calculated to substantially harm another person with respect to his health,

safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation or personal relationships. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution based on paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6)

and (7) that the actor believed the accusation or secret to be true or the proposed

official action justified and that his purpose was limited to compelling the other

to behave in a way reasonably related to the circumstances which were the subject

of the accusation, exposure or proposed official action, as by desisting from further

misbehavior, making good a wrong done, or refraining from taking any action or responsibility

for which the actor believes the other disqualified. b. Grading. Criminal coercion is a crime of the fourth degree unless the threat is to commit

a crime more serious than one of the fourth degree or the actor's purpose is criminal,

in which cases the offense is a crime of the third degree.