> ## 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. # §2M5.3 Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-3-providing-material-support-or-resources-to-designated-fy2025/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:57:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:57:36.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term under §2M5.3 was 101 months (8.4 years) for the 11 people sentenced, the lowest yearly median in the 2016 to 2025 series. After a guilty plea the median was 96 months, and after a trial it was 232.5 months, based on 2 people. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2M5.3 Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-3-providing-material-support-or-resources-to-designated/) › §2M5.3: FY2025 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term under §2M5.3 was 101 months (8.4 years) for the 11 people sentenced, the lowest yearly median in the 2016 to 2025 series. After a guilty plea the median was 96 months, and after a trial it was 232.5 months, based on 2 people. 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 11 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 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](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/). ## The Lowest Yearly Median in the Series The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 11 people in fiscal year 2025 whose primary guideline was §2M5.3\. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. All 11 (100%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 101 months (8.4 years). A quarter received 126 months or more, and a quarter received 42.3 months or less. The median across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 144 months, so 2025 is lower. The table shows the median for each year. A group of 11 is small, so a single year is not a trend. The records do not show why the 2025 median is lower. ## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials Of the 11 people, 9 (82%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 96 months after a guilty plea and 232.5 months after a trial, based on the 2 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The trial figure rests on 2 people. It describes those cases and not trials in general. Of the 9 guilty pleas, 8 had a written plea agreement and 1 was a straight plea. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Range A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 11 people with that information recorded (9%). Within the guideline range were 2 sentences (18%). Below the range at the government's request were 4 (36%), and below the range without a government request were 5 (45%). None (0%) was above the range. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2025, 51% of sentences were within the range. ## Supervised Release for Life All 11 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 90 months. Supervised release for life was ordered for 5 (45%). A fine was ordered for 1 person (9%), and no restitution was ordered (0%). ## Criminal History Criminal history category VI, the highest, applied to 91% of the group, and category I, the lowest, to 9%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Where 2025 Fits Among Federal Cases For fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 165 people were sentenced under this guideline. More than 99% were sent to prison, 82% pleaded guilty, and 22% were sentenced within the range. Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025, under every guideline, totaled 66,662 people, with a median prison term of 24 months and a guilty plea share of 98%. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and the data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers here are federal only. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 18 | 210 months | 83% | | 2017 | 21 | 120 months | 81% | | 2018 | 28 | 180 months | 82% | | 2019 | 17 | 180 months | 82% | | 2020 | 11 | 180 months | 82% | | 2021 | 10 | 137 months | 70% | | 2022 | 19 | 180 months | 84% | | 2023 | 21 | 144 months | 86% | | 2024 | 9 | 120 months | 8 of 9 | | 2025 | 11 | 101 months | 82% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2M5.3 (11), 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) - [§2M5.3 Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2m5-3-providing-material-support-or-resources-to-designated/) (overview) - [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.