§2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
Fiscal year 2023 had 21 people sentenced under §2K2.5, the largest count in the yearly table. 14 (67%) received prison, with a median prison term of 18.5 months, and 7 sentences (33%) were above the guideline range. All 21 pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal › §2K2.5: FY2023
In brief: Fiscal year 2023 had 21 people sentenced under §2K2.5, the largest count in the yearly table. 14 (67%) received prison, with a median prison term of 18.5 months, and 7 sentences (33%) were above the guideline range. All 21 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 21 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
The Largest Count and a Median of 18.5 Months
In fiscal year 2023, the Commission's files show 21 people for whom §2K2.5 was the primary guideline. Fiscal year 2022 had 12 and fiscal year 2024 had 12.
14 of the 21 people (67%) received a prison term, and 7 (33%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 18.5 months.
A quarter of them received 5.5 months or less, and a quarter received 54 months or more. 14 people (67%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
More Sentences Were Above the Range
11 of the 21 sentences (52%) were within the guideline range. 7 (33%) were above it, and 3 (14%) were below it at the government's request. None was below the range without a government request.
In fiscal year 2022, 58% were within the range, and in fiscal year 2024, 75% were. The 52% for 2023 was lower than the 73% for all years from 2016 to 2025.
Pleas, Agreements, and Mandatory Minimums
21 of 21 people (100%) pleaded guilty. 86% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 19 people with that information recorded (5%). Only convicted and sentenced people are included.
Criminal History, Fines, and Restitution
43% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 29% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records do not track this.
A fine was ordered for 7 people (33%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).
How 2023 Compares With All Years and All Guidelines
Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 132 people were sentenced under §2K2.5. 59% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 11.2 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. The 2023 median was higher than 11.2 months.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023, 64,124 people were sentenced. The median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 42% of sentences were within the range.
The table lists each year. Fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 have the highest medians in it, 18.5 months and 18.7 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 7.3 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 10.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 12 | 10.8 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 17 | 5 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 17 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 10 | 5.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 12 | 13.9 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 21 | 18.5 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 12 | 18.7 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 9 | 10 months | 9 of 9 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Under the Guidelines Manual, §2K2.5 carries the heading "Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility; Possession or Discharge of Firearm in School Zone." These cases belong to the Firearms offense type. The records do not describe the conduct in any case or why sentences differ. A count of 21 is still small, so one year should not be read as a trend.
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so nothing here is compared with courts-martial.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.5 (21), 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)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.