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# Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-national-defense-sentences-district-of-minnesota/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:07:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:07:01.000Z
- Description: In the District of Minnesota, 1 of 19 people sentenced for national defense offenses received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 36% in all 94 districts. The median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years), higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all districts. All 19 plead
- 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 Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-minnesota/) › National Defense Offense: District of Minnesota

**In brief:** In the District of Minnesota, 1 of 19 people sentenced for national defense offenses received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 36% in all 94 districts. The median prison term was 42 months (3.5 years), higher than the 24 months for this offense type in all districts. All 19 pleaded guilty.

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 19 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/).

## Sentences Below the Guideline Range

Of the 19 people with the information recorded, 1 (5%) was sentenced within the guideline range. Another 10 (53%) received a term below the range at the government's request. A further 8 (42%) received a term below the range without a government request. No one was sentenced above the range.

For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 36% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Minnesota, the share was 31%. The national defense group is therefore different from both comparisons, with sentences within the range much less often.

## Prison Terms and Probation

The District of Minnesota sentenced 19 people for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. The Commission's offense type is called "National Defense." Of the 19, 17 (89%) received a prison term, and 1 (5%) received probation only.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 42 months. A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. The wide gap between the upper and lower figures shows that the terms varied a great deal within a small group.

In all districts, 2,236 people were sentenced for this offense type, 84% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 24 months. The district's overall median across all offenses, 70 months, is higher than the national defense median.

## Which Guidelines Applied

The most common primary guideline was §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose), with 11 people. The next was §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License), with 4 people.

A total of 3 people were sentenced under §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls), and 1 under §2M3.3 (Transmitting National Defense Information). National defense cases were less than 1% of the 3,630 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas and Mandatory Minimums

All 19 pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 19 people with that information recorded.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 13 people (68%), and the median term was 180 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 1 person (5%).

In criminal history category I, the lowest, 42% of the group were placed. In category VI, the highest, 58% were placed. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7 people. The yearly table lists no more than 7 people in any year, and most years list 1 or 2\. The yearly medians range from 0 months to 216 months because each is based on so few people. These counts are too small to call a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 0 months      | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 7                | 120 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2018        | 1                | 15 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 2                | 24 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2020        | 2                | 24.2 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 1                | 0.1 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 2                | 42 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 1                | 216 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 1                | 120 months    | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The data does not describe what any person did, and it cannot show why so many sentences were below the guideline range.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Minnesota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Minnesota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (19). 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 Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-minnesota/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-minnesota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-minnesota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-minnesota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-district-of-minnesota/) (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.