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Appeals court throws out right-wing influencer’s conviction for 2016 election interference
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, JUL 9 – The Second Circuit ruled there was insufficient evidence that Douglass Mackey knowingly conspired to suppress votes despite 5,000 people following his meme’s false instructions, court records show.
- On Wednesday, a federal appeals panel in Manhattan overturned Douglass Mackey's 2023 conviction for conspiracy against rights related to efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.
- Mackey was found guilty in 2023 of spreading false memes between September and November 2016 that misled Democratic voters into believing they could cast ballots for Hillary Clinton through texting or social media, with the intent to reduce Democratic voter participation.
- Prosecutors introduced communications from exclusive Twitter group chats to demonstrate a deliberate effort to obstruct voting rights, while the trial judge described Mackey as a key figure in a conspiracy amounting to an attack on democratic principles.
- A three-judge panel led by Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston ruled posting memes alone, even with harmful intent, cannot prove conspiracy without evidence of a knowing agreement among co-conspirators.
- The ruling ordered a judgment of acquittal, vindicated Mackey, and suggested that circumstantial evidence was insufficient to uphold conspiracy charges for online misinformation aimed at election outcomes.
72 Articles
72 Articles
Twitter Troll's Conspiracy Conviction Over 2016 Hillary Clinton Election Memes Overturned
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday to overturn the 2023 conviction of Douglass Mackey, known online as Ricky Vaughn, for social media posts made during the 2016 election regarding then-candidate Hillary Clinton. Following a one-week trial in a Brooklyn federal court, Mackey was convicted of conspiracy for posting what have been characterized as memes suggesting [...] The post Twitter Troll’s Conspiracy Conviction Over 2016 Hillary Clinton E…
Pro-Trump 'troll' who spread Hillary text-to-vote memes in 2016 has conviction tossed by appeals court
The appeals court decision is a win for Douglass Mackey, who spread false information online, including efforts to suppress Democrat voter turnout, in the run-up to 2016.
Activist’s conviction for Hillary Clinton memes tossed by appeals courts
A social media influencer who was sentenced to seven months behind bars two years ago for posting anti-Hillary Clinton memes that federal prosecutors deemed election interference for misleading voters had his conviction overturned.
Court Tosses Meme Maker’s Conviction in Free Speech Win
Douglass Mackey, known online as “Ricky Vaughn,” had his 2023 conviction overturned by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on July 9, 2025. Originally sentenced to seven months in prison over memes posted during the 2016 election, Mackey faced a possible 10‑year sentence before the conviction was stayed pending appeal. Mackey’s pro‑Trump meme campaign encouraged African‑American voters to “Text ‘Hillary’ to 55…
BIG NEWS: Remember The Memer Who Did Time For His Joke About Voting For Hillary?
The appeals court took another look at Douglass Mackey’s case, and guess what? He’s got his life back as a vindicated man! (Finally.) This is a story whose point of origin is so old that everyone but the MAGA faithful were sure that Hillary was going to dog-walk Trump in the Presidential election, and Newsweek was still printing up this ill-fated magazine cover. We were still in the Wild West of social media, when Pepe the Frog was at the peak o…
ThePatriotLight - Douglass Mackey Could Have Been Pardoned, But He Wanted the Full Free Speech Victory
ThePatriotLight - On Wednesday’s “Alex Marlow Show,” host and Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow talked about the Douglass Mackey case. Marlow stated, “Trump would have pardoned him, I think, if he had asked. But he didn’t want to get pardoned because he wanted to restore the precedent that you are allowed to make jokes, that we have free speech in this country, that you are allowed to meme.” “The Alex Marlow Show,” hosted by Breitbart Editor…
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