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# Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-national-defense-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:45.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Texas, 19 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 46 months (3.8 years), compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. Most of the cases were arms export case
- 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 Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) › National Defense Offense: Eastern District of Texas

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Texas, 19 people were sentenced for national defense offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 46 months (3.8 years), compared with 24 months across all 94 federal districts. Most of the cases were arms export cases.

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/).

## Mostly Arms Export Cases

"National Defense" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases. The records list a primary guideline for each person. The most common was §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License), with 15 people.

Another 2 people were sentenced under §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls). One was sentenced under §2M6.1 (Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction), and 1 under §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose).

## Prison Terms

The median prison term was 46 months. A quarter received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less. These are imposed terms, not time served.

Supervised release was ordered for all 19, with a median term of 36 months, and 1 person (5%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 4 people (21%), and restitution for 1 (5%). No mandatory minimum was recorded for any of the 19.

## Compared With All Districts

For national defense offenses in all 94 federal districts, the Commission counted 2,236 people. In that group, 84% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 24 months. Both the prison rate and the median are higher in this district, at 100% and 46 months.

For all offenses in the Eastern District of Texas, the median prison term was 64.5 months. National defense cases are less than 1% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas and Trial

Of the 19 people, 18 (95%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 46 months. After the trial it was 300 months, which describes a single person.

All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty.

## Within or Below the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's rules. Of the 19 people, 11 (58%) were sentenced within it. Another 5 (26%) were sentenced below it at the government's request, and 3 (16%) were sentenced below it without a request. No one was sentenced above the range.

Across all districts, 36% of national defense sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 64%.

## Criminal History and Yearly Counts

In the lowest criminal history category were 89% of the group, and 5% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

The district sentenced 10 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 9 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists only years with cases, and no year has more than 5 people. The yearly medians are not a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | 37 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2018        | 2                | 46 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 3                | 48 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 300 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | 46 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 2                | 41 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 3                | 30 months     | 3 of 3         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not describe the items, destinations, or facts of any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") 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 Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (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.