18 U.S.C. 871, Threats against President and successors to the Presidency: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 84 federal defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 871 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 22 (26%) had their cases dismissed and 58 (69%) pleaded guilty. Only 4 went to trial, and 2 of those 4 ended in an acquittal. Of the 60 convicted, 57 (95%) received a prison term on this charge, with a media
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In brief: Of 84 federal defendants whose cases under 18 U.S.C. 871 ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 22 (26%) had their cases dismissed and 58 (69%) pleaded guilty. Only 4 went to trial, and 2 of those 4 ended in an acquittal. Of the 60 convicted, 57 (95%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 28.5 months (2.4 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 84 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
Dismissals and Guilty Pleas
This section of Title 18 is headed "Threats against President and successors to the Presidency". Federal Judicial Center records list 84 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under it.
Dismissals ended 22 of the 84 cases. A dismissal here means the charges were dropped, and it includes dismissals on the government's motion. For example, a charge may be dismissed after the defendant pleads guilty in a different case, so a dismissal does not always mean the matter ended with no conviction anywhere.
Guilty pleas ended 58 cases. Counting pleas and trial verdicts, 60 of the 84 (71%) were convicted.
The 4 Trials
Juries heard 3 trials and acquitted in 1. A judge alone decided 1 bench trial, and it ended in an acquittal. In total, 2 of 4 trials ended in an acquittal.
With only 4 trials over the whole period, these numbers cannot establish a trial acquittal rate for this section. A single different verdict would change the share a great deal.
Charge Level and Prison Terms
All 84 charges were felonies. No Class A misdemeanors or petty offenses appear in the records for this section.
Of the 60 convicted, 57 received a prison term on this charge. Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 28.5 months, or 2.4 years. The median is the middle term when the terms are put in order.
Yearly Counts
This is a small section. Between 4 and 13 cases ended in any one fiscal year, so the yearly percentages move a great deal.
In fiscal year 2017, all 12 cases ended in a guilty plea. In fiscal year 2022, 5 of 8 were dismissed. In fiscal year 2021, 2 cases went to trial, and 1 ended in an acquittal.
These yearly changes involve very few cases and are not trends. The records do not explain them.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 69% | 23% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 12 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 11 | 73% | 18% | 1 | 1 (1 of 1) |
| 2019 | 9 | 7 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 4 of 5 | 1 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 | 40% | 40% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2022 | 8 | 3 of 8 | 5 of 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 4 of 5 | 1 of 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 of 7 | 2 of 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 of 4 | 2 of 4 | 0 | 0 |
Who Represented the Defendants?
Federal public or community defenders represented 60 defendants (71%), with 70% pleading guilty and 25% dismissed. They had 3 trials, and 2 ended in an acquittal.
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 16 (19%), with 69% pleading guilty, 25% dismissed, and 1 trial with no acquittal. Retained private counsel represented 6 defendants: 5 of 6 pleaded guilty and 1 of 6 was dismissed.
These groups are small. Counsel type is the one recorded at the end of the case, and defendants with hired and appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances. The numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 60 | 70% | 25% | 3 | 2 (2 of 3) |
| CJA panel attorney | 16 | 69% | 25% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 6 | 5 of 6 | 1 of 6 | 0 | 0 |
What Cannot Be Seen in the Data
The records give no facts about the conduct charged, the evidence, or the reasons a prosecutor dropped a case. They track only the most serious charge when each case ended.
The approved crosswalk names no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal numbers are reported.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 871, any subsection (84), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 18 U.S.C. 842, Unlawful acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 844, Penalties: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 875, Interstate communications: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 876, Mailing threatening communications: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.