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 55925,” parodying voter suppression tactics, and was defended as protected speech. The court ruled the government offered insufficient evidence to prove Mackey intended to obstruct voting.
In a celebratory post on X, Mackey announced his conviction was vacated and dismissed for lack of evidence, ending a protracted legal battle he suggests will now lead to a lawsuit against the federal government.
The case had stirred concern over free‑speech rights. Brought by the Biden DOJ in 2021, around four years after the memes’ publication, critics warned the charges blurred satire with criminal intent under civil‑rights statutes.
Trump allies, including President Trump Jr., rallied behind Mackey. The decision sets a legal precedent reinforcing First Amendment protections for political parody online.
