Man Who Posted Hillary Clinton Meme Sentenced to Jail Time

A picture of Douglass Mackey, also known online as influencer "Ricky Vaughn," dated February 2023. Courtesy of Douglass Mackey

A man convicted of interfering in the 2016 presidential election for posting a meme was sentenced on Oct. 18 to seven months in jail.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly also sentenced Douglass Mackey, known as Ricky Vaughn, to two years of supervised release after his jail sentence as well as a $15,000 fine.

Judge Donnelly, appointed under President Barack Obama, declined Mr. Mackey’s request to stay sentencing pending appeal.

“We are very much looking forward to and optimistic about his appeal,” Andrew Frisch, a lawyer representing Mr. Mackey, told The Epoch Times via email.

“One of the foundational rights we hold as Americans, a right that many fought so hard to obtain, is the right to vote. The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “This groundbreaking prosecution demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who commit crimes that threaten our democracy and seek to deprive people of their constitutional right to vote.”

Mr. Mackey faced up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. prosecutors had asked the court to sentence him to at least six, and up to 16 months in prison, a range based on modifications under federal sentencing guidelines.

A sentence within that range would acknowledge that Mr. Mackey “sought to undermine” the right to vote in a “deliberate and calculated” scheme,” they said in a filing.

Messages Mr. Mackey sent showed the memes he spread “targeted women, black people, and foreign-language speakers,” prosecutors said, including groups he said should not have the ability to vote.

Mr. Mackey’s lawyers under their interpretation of the sentencing guidelines, the sentencing range would be zero to six months.

The judge should go for the lower end because Mr. Mackey has “embraced the difficult work of honest introspection for which many lack true courage and resolve,” they wrote in a filing.

The lawyers said Mr. Mackey spent time at an inpatient rehabilitation center, has worked on his Catholic faith, has been married, and is expecting his first child. They also argued the crime was committed without significant planning and was an aberration from Mr. Mackey’s “otherwise law-abiding life.” They provided a dozen letters to the court from family and friends describing Mr. Mackey as a changed man.

“It is so clear to me that Doug’s dark days have passed. It may not be as evident to those who aren’t close family and friends but Doug has put a tremendous amount of time and effort into making amends for the consequences of his words online—from a chapter which is long over,” his sister wrote in one. “May he be able to move forward with all the goodness in his life that he has worked so hard to create. May he have the invaluable opportunity and right to be present as a father for his son’s first years.

Conviction

Mr. Mackey was convicted by a jury in New York City in March on a charge of conspiracy against rights.

Mr. Mackey posted online in favor of Republicans, regularly sharing memes, or pictures with words superimposed on them.

Mr. Mackey was charged with conspiring with others to post memes encouraging supporters of Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to vote via text or on social media, despite both methods being legally invalid. In one post, Mr. Mackey shared an image of a black woman standing in front of a sign that said “African Americans for Hillary.” The words superimposed on the image said, “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home.” and “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925.”

The memes were shared on Twitter, now known as X. Mr. Mackey had about 58,000 followers on the social media platform.

The FBI investigated Mr. Mackey and others who shared memes online ahead of the 2016 election.

FBI agents said Mr. Mackey and others “spread disinformation” about how people could vote, constituting “criminal infringement of the right to vote.”

Defense lawyers during the trial said Mr. Mackey’s memes were jokes that should be protected under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

“Why would someone share a meme that you would vote for POTUS … without disclosing your name … or proving that you are of voting age?” Mr. Frisch said.

“Whether he was a great thinker or a Neanderthal caveman, none of it was a criminal conspiracy to defraud voters,” he also told jurors.

Prosecutors said that false speech becomes a crime if the speech is intended to deceive voters and devoid them of the right to vote.

The law against conspiracy against rights was approved after the Civil War and had never “been used in the way it’s being used” against Mr. Mackey, James Lawrence, attorney for the Douglass Mackey Defense Fund, told The Epoch Times previously.

“The mental intent to interfere is enough under the statute,” he added. “If one carries that to its logical conclusion, that could have implications for a range of other conduct outside of the scope of this case.”

Gary Bai contributed to this report.