Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Hundreds of terror suspects tried in federal courts?

The Supreme Court announced its ruling on the health care law on Thursday. The Supreme Court announced its ruling on the health care law on Thursday.

The Supreme Court announced its ruling on the health care law on Thursday.

Robert Farley
By Robert Farley February 12, 2010

As the debate rages over whether Guantanamo detainees ought to be tried in federal court, a lot of numbers are flying around that may appear confusing or conflicting.

The debate has put one statistic front and center: Just how many terrorists have been tried and successfully convicted in federal courts in recent years? It's a more difficult number to track than you might think.

President Barack Obama recently said, "We're not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11. They prosecuted the 190 folks in these Article III (federal) courts. Got convictions. And those folks are in maximum security prisons right now."

We found that when Obama cites this number in the same breath as Guantanamo detainees, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. So we rated his statement Barely True. Read our factcheck on Obama for the full story.

Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter

Our Sources

See item for full sources.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Robert Farley

Hundreds of terror suspects tried in federal courts?