§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
Of the 154 people sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2020, 17 (11%) received a sentence above the guideline range, and 80 (52%) received one within it. 137 people (89%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications › §2A6.1: FY2020
In brief: Of the 154 people sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2020, 17 (11%) received a sentence above the guideline range, and 80 (52%) received one within it. 137 people (89%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 154 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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.
Above-Range Sentences Under §2A6.1
17 of the 154 people (11%) were sentenced above the range. 80 (52%) were within it. 23 (15%) were below it at the government's request, and 34 (22%) were below it without a request.
In fiscal year 2019, 53% of §2A6.1 sentences were within the range, and in fiscal year 2021 the share was 46%. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2020 it was 50%.
Prison Terms and Probation
137 people (89%) received a prison term, and 12 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 153 people with that information recorded (less than 1%). The terms are the ones imposed at sentencing.
Pleas and Trials
140 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. 89% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 11% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 13 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. The data describes these groups. It does not show why the terms differ.
About the Guideline and the Counting Rules
§2A6.1 is titled "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens" in the Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The Commission's Stalking/Harassing offense type holds all 154 cases.
Fiscal year 2020 ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Their primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
After Prison and Financial Orders
137 people (89%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 13 (8%). Restitution was ordered for 18 (12%).
44% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 10% were in the highest. Court-martial records do not include criminal history.
Comparing Fiscal Year 2020 With All Federal Cases
64,565 people were sentenced under all guidelines in fiscal year 2020. The median prison term was 18 months, which is the same as under §2A6.1, and 98% pleaded guilty.
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,558 people were sentenced under §2A6.1. 87% were sent to prison, the median was 18 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 49% were within the range. Fiscal year 2019 had 137 people, and fiscal year 2021 had 159. The table lists all years.
| 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% |
What Remains Unknown
No close court-martial counterpart appears in the approved crosswalk, so the post stays with federal numbers. The records do not give the reasons for above-range or below-range sentences.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (154), 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 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 (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.