Originally published October 18, 2023 2:00 pm PDT
Douglass Mackey, a prominent social media influencer also known as “Ricky Vaughn,” has been sentenced to 7 months in prison for conspiring to deceive potential voters during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
This conviction comes in light of Mackey’s scheme to manipulate supporters of Hillary Clinton into believing they could vote by sending a text message, which was legally unfounded.
The conviction was handed down by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly after Mackey was found guilty of Conspiracy Against Rights during a trial that spanned three weeks.
As announced by Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, “One of the foundational rights we hold as Americans, a right that many fought so hard to obtain, is the right to vote.”
Peace emphasized the gravity of Mackey’s actions, stating, “The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy.”
Evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that Mackey, leading up to the 2016 election, had garnered a considerable following on Twitter, boasting about 58,000 followers.
Furthermore, a 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab categorized him as a significant influencer for the impending presidential race.
The core of his conspiracy involved collaborating with fellow influential Twitter personalities and private online group members between September and November 2016.
Their combined efforts aimed to mislead voters with fraudulent messages.
Detailing one such incident from the trial, the press release mentioned, “On November 1, 2016, in or around the same time that Mackey was sending tweets suggesting the importance of limiting ‘black turnout,’ the defendant tweeted an image depicting an African American woman standing in front of an ‘African Americans for Hillary’ sign.”
The misleading content of this tweet encouraged people to “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” further instructing them to “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925” to cast their vote.
The illusive nature of the message was heightened with the hashtag “#ImWithHer,” frequently affiliated with Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The extent of the deception was highlighted by the revelation that “[o]n or about and before Election Day 2016, thousands of unique telephone numbers texted ‘Hillary’ or some derivative to the 59925 text number.”
The FBI was responsible for investigating this case, with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Erik D. Paulsen and F. Turner Buford, and Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta.
As the United States Attorney Peace firmly concluded, “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.”
