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# Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-national-defense-sentences-district-of-colorado/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:09:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:09:56.000Z
- Description: The District of Colorado sentenced 10 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and none received a sentence within the guideline range: 5 were below it at the government's request and 5 were below it without that request. The median prison term was 36 months (3 years), comp
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) › National Defense Offense: District of Colorado

**In brief:** The District of Colorado sentenced 10 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and none received a sentence within the guideline range: 5 were below it at the government's request and 5 were below it without that request. The median prison term was 36 months (3 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 districts. 3 people were convicted after a trial.

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 10 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](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/).

## No Sentence Was Within the Guideline Range

Each case has a range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. For all 10 people, the sentence was below that range. 5 (50%) were below it at the government's request, and 5 (50%) were below it without a government request.

None was within the range (0%), and none was above it (0%). For all districts, 36% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was also 36%.

## Prison Terms

Of the 10 people, 9 (90%) received a prison term, and 1 (10%) received probation only. In all districts, 84% were sent to prison.

Among the 9 sent to prison, the median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter received 76.1 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less. The median for all districts was 24 months, and for all offenses in the District of Colorado it was 36 months. These are sentences imposed, not time served.

## Guidelines That Applied

"National Defense" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. The most common primary guideline in Colorado was §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License), with 6 people.

Another 2 people were sentenced under §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose). 1 was sentenced under §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls) and 1 under §2M3.1 (Gathering or Transmitting National Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government).

These cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas and Trials

A total of 7 of the 10 people (70%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 97% pleaded guilty, so trials were more common in this group. All 7 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term was 19 months after a guilty plea and 76.1 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people, so it describes a very small group.

## Other Terms of Sentencing

No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 10). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 6 people (60%), with a median term of 48 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (10%), and restitution for none (0%).

In criminal history, 70% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 10% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

The district sentenced 5 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2024\. The table lists 6 years with cases, from 1 to 3 people each.

The 2018 row shows 3 people and 0 of 3 guilty pleas. The 2024 median of 262 months rests on 1 person. These counts do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 3                | 76.1 months   | 0 of 3         |
| 2019        | 1                | 14 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2024        | 1                | 262 months    | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.

Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy appear in this site's court-martial data and are in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The records do not connect any installation to these 10 federal cases.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (10). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

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.

## 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)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [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.