Laws take intent into account all the time. It's the difference between acting and assault, for example: Do you intend to put on a show or do you intend to make someone afraid for their safety?
The problem you're hitting on is that being an asshole isn't illegal, because we can't write laws that vague. Well, we could, but they'd be applied inconsistently enough that courts would practically fall over themselves to strike them down. And they should: One person's idea of asshole behavior is another person's idea of normal variation, which is fun when the difference comes down to culture, which always gets recast in terms of race, as in Europe's anti-Roma racism.
The problem you're hitting on is that being an asshole isn't illegal, because we can't write laws that vague. Well, we could, but they'd be applied inconsistently enough that courts would practically fall over themselves to strike them down. And they should: One person's idea of asshole behavior is another person's idea of normal variation, which is fun when the difference comes down to culture, which always gets recast in terms of race, as in Europe's anti-Roma racism.