§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
Under §2M5.3, 164 of 165 people (more than 99%) sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025 received prison. The median prison term was 144 months, or 12 years, and 46 people (28%) received supervised release for life.
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In brief: Under §2M5.3, 164 of 165 people (more than 99%) sentenced from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025 received prison. The median prison term was 144 months, or 12 years, and 46 people (28%) received supervised release for life.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 165 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.
Long Prison Terms
The median prison term was 144 months (12 years). A quarter of those sent to prison received 221 months or more, and a quarter received 95.4 months or less.
Only 1 of the 165 people received probation only. Terms are those imposed by the court and not time served.
What the Guideline Covers
The Manual title is "Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose." The title describes support given to designated terrorist groups or persons, or given for a terrorist purpose.
The Commission's offense type for these 165 cases is National Defense. The cases counted are those where this was the primary guideline. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
136 of 165 people (82%) pleaded guilty, and 29 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 132 months. After a trial it was 180 months, based on 29 people.
Of the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas.
Mandatory Minimums and the Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 people (6%).
Sentences were within the guideline range for 22% (37 people). 31% (51) were below the range at the government's request, and 46% (76) were below it without a request. 1 sentence was above the range.
Supervised Release for Many Years
155 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 120 months, and 46 people (28%) received supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 5 people (3%), and restitution for 9 (5%).
Criminal History
Criminal history was mostly in the top category: 5% of people were in the lowest category and 95% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this cannot be compared with military data.
Change by Year
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 84 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 160 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 81 people were sentenced and the median was 132 months.
Yearly medians in the table run from 101 months in fiscal year 2025 to 210 months in fiscal year 2016. Each year has 9 to 28 people. The records cannot show what caused the changes, if any is real.
The yearly share who pleaded guilty was lowest in fiscal year 2021, at 70%, and was 86% in fiscal year 2023. The year with the most people was fiscal year 2018, at 28.
| 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% |
Limits
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the files, so the data describes only people convicted and sentenced.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2M5.3 (165), 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)
- §2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M5.1 Evasion of Export Controls: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M6.1 Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M3.3 Transmitting National Defense Information: 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.