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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.
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Townhall broke the news in Washington, United States on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
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