> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:24:59.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:24:59.000Z - Description: 176 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2024. 158 (90%) received a prison term, the median prison term was 20 months, and restitution was ordered for 23 people (13%). - 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: FY2024 **In brief:** 176 people were sentenced under §2A6.1 in fiscal year 2024\. 158 (90%) received a prison term, the median prison term was 20 months, and restitution was ordered for 23 people (13%). 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 176 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/). ## Restitution and Other Financial Orders Courts ordered restitution for 23 of the 176 people (13%) and a fine for 13 (7%). Restitution is payment to compensate for a loss, and the data does not say what loss was involved in any case. 154 people (88%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median supervised release term was 36 months. ## Prison Terms 158 people (90%) were sentenced to prison, and 14 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 20 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 176 people with that information recorded (2%). The median prison term was 18 months in fiscal year 2023 and 20 months in fiscal year 2025. ## What §2A6.1 Is The title in the Sentencing Guidelines Manual is "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens." The Commission puts all 176 cases in the Stalking/Harassing offense type. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. The data covers people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquitted people and dismissed cases are not in it. ## Prior Records in the Group 59% of the group were in the lowest criminal history category, and 12% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military figure to set beside these. Category I is the lowest federal category, and category VI is the highest. The records do not show how the categories in between were distributed. ## Guilty Pleas, Straight Pleas, and Trials 162 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. 80% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 19% were straight pleas with no agreement. After a guilty plea the median prison term was 18 months. After a trial it was 33 months, based on 13 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. ## Within the Range, Below It, and Above It 84 people (48%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 28 (16%) were below it at the government's request, and 45 (26%) were below it without a request. 19 (11%) were above it. The share within the range was 48% in fiscal year 2023 and 45% in fiscal year 2025\. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2024, it was 46%, about the same as the §2A6.1 share. ## Federal Context 61,678 people were sentenced under all guidelines in fiscal year 2024\. The median prison term was 30 months, and 97% pleaded guilty. The §2A6.1 median was lower. From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,558 people were sentenced under §2A6.1\. 87% went to prison, the median was 18 months, and 92% pleaded guilty. The table lists every year. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the post reports federal numbers on their own. | 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 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (176), 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 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications-fy2025/) (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.