Threat and incitement terrorist texts are central concerns in the field of forensic linguistics, for being public illicit acts of aggression aimed at effecting sociopolitical changes (Etaywe, 2023). This study contributes to tools for ‘sociolinguistic profiling’ (Shuy, 2014) by describing threateners and inciters’ personae, targets, and tactics for power-negotiation and violence-justification. By considering the functional context of meaning-making (May, Sousa-Silva & Coulthard, 2021) and drawing on Coupland’s (2007) work on audience-specific styling and Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal framework grounded in systemic functional linguistics, this research showcases an innovative ‘extremist appraisal signature’ analysis (Etaywe, 2022, in press; Etaywe & Zappavigna, 2023). Specifically, it delves into the intricate relationship between axiology, persona and style variations in two threat texts and two incitement texts authored by the former leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, as a case study. The study displays how appraising expressions and their socially categorical, appraised ideations (targets) co-pattern and function. That is, how they reveal the configuration of meaning-making potential and the associated social bonds at stake and how they are leveraged to justify violence, position different individuals and social groups, and give rise to several textual personae of the author. The findings show that the evaluative patterns are predominantly judgemental, and offer evidence of the emergence of distinct personae (e.g. retaliator, manipulator) and influence-tactics (e.g. discrediting, blaming, accusing). These patterns in threat texts operate to foster value disalignment with victims, while in incitement texts serve to forge value-alignment with incitees and disalignment with the incited against. The positive/negative semantic prosody of evaluative couplings presents both text types with axiological binary opposition structures, and victims positioned as unethical and threat. Axiology and evaluative style adapt to targeted audiences, thereby amplifying the persuasive and intimidating impact of texts. This research holds implications for counter-extremism communication and criminal profiling protocols.