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# §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2021/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:56.000Z
- Description: The median prison term under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2021 was 15 months, which is lower than the 18 months in both fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2022. 159 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 136 (86%) were sent to prison.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) › §2A6.1: FY2021

**In brief:** The median prison term under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2021 was 15 months, which is lower than the 18 months in both fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2022\. 159 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 136 (86%) were sent to prison.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 159 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A Median of 15 Months, Lower Than Both Neighboring Years

Among the 136 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 32.2 months or more, and a quarter received 7.4 months or less.

The yearly table shows no other fiscal year with a median this low. The records cannot show whether this reflects a change in the cases or in sentencing, and a single year is not a trend.

## A Guilty Plea Rate Above the 2016 to 2025 Figure

152 of the 159 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. The 2016 to 2025 plea rate under §2A6.1 was 92%, so fiscal year 2021 was higher.

84% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 16% were straight pleas. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 14 months. After a trial it was 41 months, based on 7 people.

## Guideline §2A6.1 and the Records Used

The Guidelines Manual title is "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens." The Commission records all 159 cases in the Stalking/Harassing offense type.

The fiscal year began on October 1, 2020 and ended on September 30, 2021\. The people counted were convicted and sentenced, and §2A6.1 set the offense level for the most serious count in each case.

## Sentences Above the Range: 13%

20 people (13%) were sentenced above the guideline range. 73 (46%) were within it. 33 (21%) were below it at the government's request, and 33 (21%) were below it without a request.

For all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, 43% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2020 the §2A6.1 share was 52%, and in fiscal year 2022 it was 43%.

## Probation, Mandatory Minimums, and Supervised Release

15 people (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 159 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).

133 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 9 (6%), and restitution for 17 (11%).

## Criminal History and Federal Totals

54% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category and 9% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

In fiscal year 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced across all guidelines. The median prison term was 29 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,558 people were sentenced under §2A6.1, with 87% sent to prison and a median of 18 months. The table lists each year, including 154 people in fiscal year 2020 and 184 in fiscal year 2022.

| 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 the Data Cannot Say

The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported. The data also does not describe the conduct in any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (159), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) (overview)
- [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.