America is becoming scarier by the day. That was proven once again when a popular former conservative Twitter influencer was convicted of voter suppression simply for sharing phony ads and memes targeting 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
According to Breitbart, Douglass Mackey, also known as Ricky Vaughn, was convicted this week after originally being accused of intending to “deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote."
The conviction came down by way of a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York on Friday.
Shockingly, Mackey faces up to 10 years in prison for the so-called "crime."
In a press release, the U.S. government wrote:
“Between September 2016 and November 2016, Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter users and with members of private online groups to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages that encouraged supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to ‘vote’ via text message or social media,”
Douglass Mackey, (AKA Ricky Vaughn), gets sentenced to 10 years and Kristina Wong as near as I can tell hasn't even been investigated for virtually the same thing.
Has anyone seen any reason why this is,(other than the obvious "we live in a two tiered justice system")? https://t.co/SKbfe1e9mY
— Jason Robertson (@JRobFromMN) April 1, 2023
United States Attorney Breon Peace released a statement Friday regarding Mackey's conviction.
"Mackey has been found guilty by a jury of his peers of attempting to deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in the 2016 Presidential Election," Pearce said.
Pearce added: "Today’s verdict proves that the defendant’s fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality and flatly rejects his cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to subvert the ballot box and suppress the vote."
Mackey set up a series of satirical ads in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election telling Clinton supporters that they could "skip the line" and vote simply by sending a text. Reportedly, some 4,900 people texted the number in Mackey's fake ads.
However, it was never clear or proven how many of those people actually refrained from voting in person, which, in part, raises First Amendment questions and if Mackey's rights were violated by the conviction.
The government's case was widely criticized across social media.
America now has a two-tiered justice system:
- Trump is indicted while Clinton pays a small fine
- Antifa & BLM rioters roam free while Jan 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail
- Douglass Mackey faces 10 years for the same joking memes that Kristina Wong posts with impunity https://t.co/Nyw9oeNOIE— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) April 1, 2023
It's anyone's guess at this point as to how much time Mackey will do as a result of the conviction, but even if he goes to prison, the next Republican president would be well-served to make Mackey a Day One pardon.