 The mens rea requirement is that the defendant must have intend to, or recklessly, cause the victim to fear the possibility of immediate unlawful violence. There is no authority that suggests that "intend" or "recklessly" ought to mean something from their normal meanings. Cunningham recklessness – that the defendant himself foresaw the risk of harm – is applied. Assault is a crime of "basic intent" for the purposes of the Majewski test concerning voluntary intoxication.
