Terrorism-Domestic Convictions for February 2024
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during February 2024 the government reported 42 new terrorism-domestic convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 133.3 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2024 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was up (128.4%). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 1085.7 percent from levels reported in 2019.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Terrorism-Domestic Convictions
The increase from the levels five years ago in terrorism-domestic convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of terrorism-domestic convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
The lead investigative agency for terrorism-domestic convictions in February 2024 was FBI accounting for 100 percent of convictions.
Terrorism-Domestic Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In February 2024, no defendants were convicted in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
Terrorism-Domestic Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In February 2024, 42 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during February there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during February.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of terrorism-domestic matters filed in U.S. District Court during February 2024.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 1752 - Temporary residence and office of President, etc. 27 1 1 - More 18 USC 231 - Civil Disorders 7 2 4 - More 18 USC 1512 - Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant 3 3 4 - More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 2 4 10 5 More 18 USC 956 - Conspire to kill/kidnap/maim person or damage property foreign country 1 5 - - More 18 USC 1366 - Destruction of an energy facility 1 5 - - More 40 USC 5104 - Unlawful Activities 1 5 4 - More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Temporary residence and office of President, etc." (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1752) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Temporary residence and office of President, etc." (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1752) was ranked 1 a year ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Civil Disorders" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 231. "Civil Disorders" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 231 was ranked 4 a year ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1512. "Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1512 was ranked 4 a year ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 400 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 231 that involves " Civil Disorders ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 200 percent — was registered for convictions under " Firearms; Unlawful acts " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 200 percent — was " " ( ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 200 % — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In February 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 15.1 terrorism-domestic convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of terrorism-domestic convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 terrorism-domestic convictions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago D. C. 6,609 37 1 1 - More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) — with 6609 convictions as compared with 15.1 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during February 2024. The District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) was ranked 1 a year ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of terrorism-domestic convictions compared to one year ago — 179.5 percent — was Washington, D.C. (Washington). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — percent — was .
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new terrorism-domestic crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during February 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Moss, Randolph Daniel D. C. 8 1 More Boasberg, James Emanuel D. C. 5 2 More Walton, Reggie B. D. C. 4 3 More Contreras, Rudolph D. C. 4 3 More Lamberth, Royce C. D. C. 3 5 More Bates, John D. D. C. 2 6 More Mehta, Amit Priyavadan D. C. 2 6 More Kelly, Timothy James D. C. 2 6 More Jackson, Amy Berman D. C. 1 9 More Cooper, Christopher Reid D. C. 1 9 More Woods, Gregory Howard, III N. Y., S 1 9 More Dlott, Susan J. Ohio, S 1 9 More Slomsky, Joel Harvey Penn, E 1 9 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 10 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of terrorism-domestic convictions per capita, while the remaining 3 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 13 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Randolph Daniel Moss in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 1st with 8 convicted in terrorism-domestic convictions.
Judge James Emanuel Boasberg in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 2nd with 5 convicted in terrorism-domestic convictions.
Judges Reggie B. Walton in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) and Rudolph Contreras in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 3rd with 4 convicted in terrorism-domestic convictions.
Report Generated: April 3, 2024
