§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Under §2A6.1, Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens, 1,558 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A prison term went to 1,361 (87%), and the median was 18 months after a guilty plea and 37 months after a trial.
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In brief: Under §2A6.1, Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens, 1,558 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A prison term went to 1,361 (87%), and the median was 18 months after a guilty plea and 37 months after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,558 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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 Sentences Were Longer Than Plea Sentences
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 37 months, based on 121 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Of the 1,558 people sentenced, 1,431 (92%) pleaded guilty, and 127 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.
What Does Guideline §2A6.1 Cover?
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual gives the title as "Threatening or Harassing Communications; Hoaxes; False Liens." The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups these cases under Stalking/Harassing.
Each person counted had §2A6.1 as the primary guideline. That is the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced.
Prison and Probation
A prison term went to 1,361 people (87%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 142 (9%).
Among those sent to prison, the overall median term was 18 months. A quarter received 35 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Range, Mandatory Minimums, and Supervised Release
The sentence position is known for 1,556 people. Within the guideline range was 49% (757). Below the range at the government's request was 17% (264), and below without a government request was 25% (395). Above the range was 9% (140).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11 people, which is less than 1%.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,339 people (86%), with a median term of 36 months.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 132 people (8%), and restitution for 167 (11%).
Criminal history was varied. In category I, the lowest, were 49% of the people, and in category VI, the highest, were 13%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure has no military equivalent.
Changes From Year to Year
The count was 534 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,024 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The median prison term was 18 months in both periods.
The yearly count rose from 135 in 2016 to 188 in 2025, though not in a straight line. The yearly median ran from 15 months in 2021 to 24 months in 2018, and it was 20 months in both 2024 and 2025.
The share who pleaded guilty stayed between 90% and 96% in every year. The table lists 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% |
What the Records Cannot Show
No close court-martial counterpart appears in the approved crosswalk, so no military comparison is made. The data also cannot show what was said or done in any case, or how many threats were reported but never charged.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A6.1 (1,558), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.