Meme-maker Douglass Mackey, known as Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, was sentenced in the Eastern District Court of New York on Wednesday following his March conviction for conspiracy against rights, specifically election interference. This conviction stemmed from memes he created during the 2016 presidential election, which mocked Hillary Clinton.
Mackey has been sentenced to seven months in prison for the memes that the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not find amusing. It’s important to note that a fundraiser has been initiated to support his ongoing legal defense.
The case was heard in the US Court of the Eastern District of New York. Mackey’s federal charge arose from the creation of memes that humorously encouraged Hillary Clinton supporters to cast their votes via text message. It’s worth emphasizing that this method of voting was not a legitimate option, and Mackey, along with everyone else, understood this. There is no evidence to suggest that any voter attempted to cast their ballot via text in response to Mackey’s meme.
One of Mackey’s supporters voiced their frustration, saying, “Doug Mackey will be sentenced in an NYC courtroom on a sham ‘conspiracy’ conviction for sharing an anti-Hillary meme tomorrow at 11:30 am, all thanks to a bunch of lies and half-truths spewed by a morbidly obese fed informant who goes by the name Microchip.
The meme that led to Mackey’s conviction was aimed at Hillary Clinton voters. Interestingly, other memes encouraging people to vote for President Trump via text message were shared on social media without any consequences. Mackey was convicted while no one else faced charges.
The DOJ argued that Mackey’s meme constituted election interference, and the court concurred, despite a lack of evidence to support the notion that anyone who saw the meme was deceived by it. Mackey contended that he was merely trying to create a viral meme and pointed out that other Clinton supporters had posted similar memes encouraging Trump supporters to vote by text without facing any legal repercussions.
Back in 2021, the DOJ alleged, “Mackey established an audience on Twitter with approximately 58,000 followers.” They claimed that “Mackey was sending tweets suggesting the importance of limiting ‘black turnout,’ with one tweet depicting an African American woman standing in front of an ‘African Americans for Hillary’ sign. The ad stated: ‘Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,’ ‘Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925,’ and ‘Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.'”
