Attempted robbery is a violent crime in nearly every situation that will matter to you. Every state treats it that way, and federal law treats it that way for most purposes, including the three-strikes provision that can trigger mandatory life imprisonment. The one meaningful exception came in 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that attempted federal robbery does not count as a “crime of violence” for a specific firearm sentencing enhancement. That carve-out is narrow, but it can change a sentence by a decade.
Why Robbery Carries the Violent Label
Robbery is separated from theft, burglary, and shoplifting by one element: force. Under the federal Hobbs Act, robbery means taking property against someone’s will through actual or threatened force, violence, or fear of injury.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence State definitions track the same structure.
Force does not have to mean physical contact. Federal courts treat intimidation as enough, defining it as words or actions that would make a reasonable person fear bodily harm. A note handed to a bank teller demanding cash can satisfy that standard. So can a hand kept in a pocket to suggest a hidden weapon. The test is objective: it does not matter whether the particular victim felt afraid, only whether a reasonable person would have.
Because force or intimidation is built into robbery itself, an attempt to commit robbery inherits that violent character in most legal frameworks.
What Counts as an Attempt
You do not have to succeed to be charged with robbery at an attempt level. Under federal law and in most states, an attempt conviction requires two things: intent to commit the crime, and a “substantial step” toward completing it.2United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions – Attempt
A substantial step is more than planning or preparation. It has to be concrete conduct that confirms criminal intent, something beyond thinking about the crime but short of carrying it out. Where the only evidence of intent comes from the conduct itself, that conduct has to point clearly toward a crime rather than some innocent purpose. Where independent evidence of intent already exists, such as a confession or surveillance footage, the substantial step only needs to corroborate what is already known.
The Federal “Crime of Violence” Definition
Federal law defines a “crime of violence” two ways under 18 U.S.C. § 16: an offense that has the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force as an element, or a felony that by its nature involves a substantial risk force will be used.3govinfo. 18 USC 16 – Crime of Violence Defined Dozens of federal statutes cross-reference this definition for sentencing enhancements, immigration consequences, and other outcomes.
Completed robbery fits because force or intimidation must be proven. Whether an attempted robbery fits was contested for years, because an attempt can be interrupted before any force is used or threatened. The Supreme Court finally resolved that question in 2022.
What the Supreme Court Decided in Taylor
In United States v. Taylor, the Court held 7-2 that attempted Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify as a “crime of violence” for purposes of the federal firearm enhancement statute, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).4Justia Law. United States v. Taylor, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) Justice Gorsuch wrote the opinion.
The Court used the “categorical approach,” asking not what the defendant actually did but what the government must always prove to secure a conviction. For completed Hobbs Act robbery, the government must prove force, threat, or intimidation. For attempted Hobbs Act robbery, the government only has to prove intent to rob plus a substantial step. As Gorsuch wrote, “an intention is just that, no more,” and a substantial step does not require proof that force was used, attempted, or threatened.5Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Taylor, No. 20-1459 (2022)
Justin Taylor’s underlying attempted robbery conviction still carried up to 20 years. But the additional 10-year mandatory minimum that attached to the “crime of violence” label was struck down.
How Narrow the Ruling Really Is
Taylor addressed one specific federal statute. It did not say attempted robbery is never violent. The federal three-strikes law at 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c) explicitly lists “attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation” to commit robbery as a “serious violent felony” that can trigger mandatory life imprisonment.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
So under federal law, attempted robbery is simultaneously not a “crime of violence” for firearm enhancement purposes and a “serious violent felony” for three-strikes purposes. The label depends on which statute is doing the classifying.
How States Treat Attempted Robbery
Taylor interpreted a federal statute, not a constitutional rule, so state courts were largely unaffected. The vast majority of states classify robbery as a violent felony, and their attempt statutes generally treat an attempt to commit a violent felony as itself a violent crime.
Most states reduce the penalty for an attempt compared to a completed offense, typically by dropping the charge one felony class or capping the maximum at about half the completed-crime sentence. Even reduced, attempted robbery remains a serious violent felony in virtually every state, with sentences commonly ranging from several years to over a decade depending on the circumstances and prior record.
Sentencing Consequences Tied to the Violent Label
Classification is not an academic exercise. It drives how long a defendant actually spends in prison.
Firearm Enhancements
When a firearm is used in a violent crime, federal law adds mandatory consecutive prison time under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c):
- Possessing a firearm: at least 5 additional years
- Brandishing a firearm: at least 7 additional years
- Discharging a firearm: at least 10 additional years
These sentences stack on top of the underlying offense and cannot run concurrently.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties After Taylor, these enhancements no longer attach to attempted Hobbs Act robbery at the federal level. They remain fully in play for completed federal robbery and for state prosecutions with similar enhancement statutes.
Three-Strikes and Habitual Offender Laws
Under the federal three-strikes provision, two prior convictions for serious violent felonies or serious drug offenses followed by a third qualifying conviction trigger mandatory life. Attempted robbery is on the qualifying list.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses Many states have parallel habitual-offender statutes with their own qualifying offenses and thresholds.
Truth-in-Sentencing
Roughly two-thirds of states have truth-in-sentencing laws requiring violent offenders to serve at least 85% of their prison sentence before release eligibility.8Bureau of Justice Statistics. Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons Because attempted robbery is classified as violent in nearly every state, it typically falls within these restrictions. A 10-year sentence under those rules means at least 8.5 years in prison, compared to roughly 5 or less under older parole systems.
Consequences That Follow After Prison
A conviction brings consequences that outlast the sentence itself.
Firearms Prohibition
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing a firearm or ammunition.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Attempted robbery is a felony in every jurisdiction, so this ban applies regardless of the actual sentence imposed.
Immigration
For non-citizens, the stakes are especially high. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a crime of violence with a prison sentence of at least one year is an “aggravated felony.”10Legal Information Institute. Aggravated Felony, 8 USC 1101(a)(43) An attempt to commit an aggravated felony is itself an aggravated felony.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character That classification brings mandatory deportation, a permanent bar to naturalization, and ineligibility for most forms of relief from removal. The sentence is measured by what the court ordered, even if suspended, so a one-year suspended sentence still crosses the threshold.
Supervised Release
After a federal prison sentence, supervised release typically follows. The maximum term depends on the felony class: up to five years for Class A and B felonies, up to three years for Class C and D.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment Violating supervised release can send a person back to prison.
The Bottom Line on Classification
Whether attempted robbery is a violent crime has a layered answer. In every state, yes. Under federal law, yes for most purposes, including three-strikes exposure, immigration consequences, and the firearms ban that attaches to any felony. The one place the answer is now no is the federal firearm enhancement under § 924(c), where Taylor removed attempted Hobbs Act robbery from the “crime of violence” category. For a federal defendant facing stacked charges, that distinction can mean a decade of difference. For everyone else, attempted robbery carries the full weight of a violent felony conviction.