§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, the median prison term under §2A6.1 was 24 months (2 years), the same as the 24-month median for all federal guidelines that year. 146 people were sentenced under §2A6.1, and 130 (89%) of them went to prison.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2018, the median prison term under §2A6.1 was 24 months (2 years), the same as the 24-month median for all federal guidelines that year. 146 people were sentenced under §2A6.1, and 130 (89%) of them went to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 146 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
A 24-Month Median, Matching the Federal Overall Figure
The median prison term for people sent to prison under §2A6.1 was 24 months. Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, 69,425 people were sentenced and the median prison term was also 24 months.
A quarter of the §2A6.1 prison terms were 41 months or more, and a quarter were 10.2 months or less. In fiscal year 2017 the median was 20 months, and in fiscal year 2019 it was 18 months.
Who Received Prison and Who Received Probation
130 of the 146 people (89%) received a prison term. 10 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 143 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).
The prison terms are those the court imposed. Actual time served can be different.
Pleas Compared With Trials
132 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 15% did not.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 18 months. After a trial it was 43.5 months, based on 14 people. The 24-month overall median falls between the plea and trial figures, because it combines both groups.
How the Guideline Is Titled
The Guidelines Manual calls §2A6.1 "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens." All 146 cases fall in the Commission's Stalking/Harassing offense type.
The data covers October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. It lists only people who were convicted and sentenced, and it uses the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Guideline Range Positions
78 people (53%) were sentenced within the range. 22 (15%) were below it at the government's request, 31 (21%) were below it without a request, and 15 (10%) were above it.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, 51% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2017 the §2A6.1 share was 49%, and in fiscal year 2019 it was 53%.
Release Terms, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
127 people (87%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 14 (10%), and restitution for 16 (11%).
42% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category and 14% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The 2016 to 2025 Record and What It Omits
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, and 92% pleaded guilty. Fiscal year 2018 is the year with the highest median in the table below, at 24 months.
No close court-martial counterpart is listed in the approved crosswalk, so the post reports federal figures alone. The records do not show the conduct behind any case.
| 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% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (146), 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (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.