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Right-wing influencer Douglass Mackey, who gained notoriety through his Twitter handle Ricky Vaughn, was convicted on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Brooklyn Federal court on charges of conspiring to stop individuals from casting their ballot for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Douglass Mackey was arrested in January 2021 for willfully spreading internet disinformation that affected black voters in the 2016 election.
According to Politico, the now 33-year-old Florida native, who boasted about 58,000 Twitter followers, was ranked by the MIT Media Lab as the 107th-most important influencer in the 2016 presidential election.
Authorities said that Mackey used his influence to encourage Hillary Clinton voters, especially Black women, to “Avoid the line” of polling stations by posting a meme with a fake number and asking people to vote through texts.
Douglass Mackey conspired with other influencers to mislead Hillary Clinton voters in the 2016 elections
As per Politico, in the 2016 election, Douglass Mackey, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, described himself as an “American Nationalist” and began promoting conspiracy theories about Democrats and voter fraud.
While spreading conspiracy theories is not illegal, in a press release, the Eastern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said that Mackey crossed the line when, between September 2016 and November 2016, he conspired with other far-right influencers and posted two images of fake Hillary Clinton ads telling people they could vote by text or social media and avoid polling stations.
During the trial, Mackey’s attorney said that his client was not attempting to suppress voters when he posted memes, but was only using his influence to go viral and mock the political opponent for amusement.
Prosecutors, however, told jurors that the pro-Trump influencer willfully misled voters in the 2016 election when he posted the memes.
Prosecutors alleged that Douglass Mackey was also sending tweets suggesting it was important to reduce “black turnout” at voting booths, resulting in at least 4,900 unique telephone numbers texting “Hillary '' on the day of the election.
Shortly after Douglass Mackey's conviction, in a statement, the Eastern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said:
“Mackey has been found guilty by a jury of his peers of attempting to deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in the 2016 Presidential Election. Today’s verdict proves that the defendant’s fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality and flatly rejects his cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to subvert the ballot box and suppress the vote.”
As per the Daily News, Mackey’s lawyer, Andrew Frisch, said that his client will appeal the verdict. Douglass Mackey’s sentencing date is scheduled for August 16 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
