§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
In fiscal year 2017, 11 of the 116 people sentenced under §2A6.1 were convicted after a trial, and 105 (91%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 41 months after a trial and 20 months after a guilty plea.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2017, 11 of the 116 people sentenced under §2A6.1 were convicted after a trial, and 105 (91%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 41 months after a trial and 20 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 116 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Trial Convictions and Guilty Pleas
Among the 116 people, 105 pleaded guilty and 11 were convicted after a trial. 81% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 19% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a trial was 41 months, based on 9 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. After a guilty plea it was 20 months. The groups differ in many ways the data does not show, so the gap does not measure the effect of going to trial.
Prison and Probation Shares
100 people (86%) received a prison term, and 10 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term for the whole prison group was 20 months. A quarter received 38 months or more, and a quarter received 11.5 months or less.
Fiscal year 2016 had a median of 18 months, and fiscal year 2018 had a median of 24 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 116 people.
Naming the Guideline and the Data
§2A6.1 is titled "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens" in the Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The Commission's offense type for these 116 cases is Stalking/Harassing.
The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. Each person counted was convicted and sentenced, and §2A6.1 was the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Sentences Within and Outside the Range
57 people (49%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 22 (19%) were below it at the government's request, and 30 (26%) were below it without a request. 7 (6%) were above it.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2017, 49% of sentences were within the range, which is the same share. In fiscal year 2016 the §2A6.1 share was 52%, and in fiscal year 2018 it was 53%.
Prior Records, Release Terms, and Payments
39% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, and 22% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
98 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 9 (8%), and restitution for 17 (15%).
Federal Totals and the Full Series
Under all guidelines in fiscal year 2017, 66,873 people were sentenced, with a median prison term of 24 months and 97% guilty pleas. The §2A6.1 median was lower, and its plea rate was lower.
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,558 people were sentenced under §2A6.1. 87% went to prison, the median prison term was 18 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 49% were within the range. The table shows each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 135 | 18 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 116 | 20 months | 91% |
| 2018 | 146 | 24 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 137 | 18 months | 90% |
| 2020 | 154 | 18 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 159 | 15 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 184 | 18 months | 91% |
| 2023 | 163 | 18 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 176 | 20 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 188 | 20 months | 93% |
Limits
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for §2A6.1, so the post uses federal numbers alone. The records do not describe the threats or communications involved in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (116), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.