Posted on 01/27/2021 10:05:02 AM PST by TigerClaws
Defendant Unlawfully Used Social Media to Deprive Individuals of Their Right to Vote
A Florida man was arrested this morning on charges of conspiring with others in advance of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election to use various social media platforms to disseminate misinformation designed to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote.
Douglass Mackey, aka Ricky Vaughn, 31, of West Palm Beach, was charged by criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York. He was taken into custody this morning in West Palm Beach and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart of the Southern District of Florida.
“According to the allegations in the indictment, the defendant exploited a social media platform to infringe one the of most basic and sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution: the right to vote,” said Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This indictment underscores the department’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who would undermine citizens’ voting rights.”
“There is no place in public discourse for lies and misinformation to defraud citizens of their right to vote,” said Seth D. DuCharme, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “With Mackey’s arrest, we serve notice that those who would subvert the democratic process in this manner cannot rely on the cloak of Internet anonymity to evade responsibility for their crimes. They will be investigated, caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“Protecting every American citizen’s right to cast a legitimate vote is a key to the success of our republic,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “What Mackey allegedly did to interfere with this process – by soliciting voters to cast their ballots via text – amounted to nothing short of vote theft. It is illegal behavior and contributes to the erosion of the public’s trust in our electoral processes. He may have been a powerful social media influencer at the time, but a quick Internet search of his name today will reveal an entirely different story.”
The complaint alleges that in 2016, Mackey established an audience on Twitter with approximately 58,000 followers. A February 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab ranked Mackey as the 107th most important influencer of the then-upcoming Election, ranking his account above outlets and individuals such as NBC News (#114), Stephen Colbert (#119) and Newt Gingrich (#141).
As alleged in the complaint, between September 2016 and November 2016, in the lead up to the Nov. 8, 2016, U.S. Presidential Election, Mackey conspired with others to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages designed to encourage supporters of one of the presidential candidates (the “Candidate”) to “vote” via text message or social media, a legally invalid method of voting.
For example, on Nov. 1, 2016, Mackey allegedly tweeted an image that featured an African American woman standing in front of an “African Americans for [the Candidate]” sign. The image included the following text: “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text ‘[Candidate’s first name]’ to 59925[.] Vote for [the Candidate] and be a part of history.” The fine print at the bottom of the image stated: “Must be 18 or older to vote. One vote per person. Must be a legal citizen of the United States. Voting by text not available in Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid for by [Candidate] for President 2016.”
The tweet included the typed hashtags “#Go [Candidate]” and another slogan frequently used by the Candidate. On or about and before Election Day 2016, at least 4,900 unique telephone numbers texted “[Candidate’s first name]” or some derivative to the 59925 text number, which was used in multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by the defendant and his co-conspirators.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik Paulsen and Nathan Reilly of the Eastern District of New York, and Trial Attorney James Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.
Run votes through the counting machine multiple times on video? Free pass.
Didn’t a Dem admit encouraging Republicans not to vote as a “joke” and receive national press a year or two ago? Yes. Free speech for some?
This has got to be a joke.
A meme’s enough for cuff and stuff.
Funny that they redacted which candidate he pretended to support.
The fine print is priceless!
That election is long over. Why are Hillary’s supporters still unwilling to admit her loss?
When memes are outlawed, only outlaws will have memes.
Humor now illegal.
Department of #JustUs !
I guess the Eastern District of New York doesn’t know what a joke is. Are jokes not free speech any more?
LOL
/that’s racissssss
So if you are a prosecutor in New York you can charge anyone anywhere?
Guess there’s no crime in New York.
Guess he'll be pitching in the Florida Penal League.
This kinda reminds of the hilarious bumper sticker from the 1972 campaign:
“Another gay couple for McGovern”
These days if the couple could not prove they were perverts they would be arrested for fraud.
;-)
This kinda reminds of the hilarious bumper sticker from the 1972 campaign:
“Another gay couple for McGovern”
These days if the couple could not prove they were perverts they would be arrested for fraud.
;-)
Mackey conspired with others to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages designed to encourage supporters of one of the presidential candidates (the “Candidate”) to “vote” via text message or social media, a legally invalid method of voting.
And the “victims” would just take his word for it? I remember seeing graffiti in a bathroom once saying, “for only one dollar cash, get a list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of 100 people who will buy anything. To get your list, send a one dollar bill and your name, address and phone number to PO Box ________, Brooklyn, NY 11323.”
He should definitely not plead out.
A jury of his peers will laugh the prosecutor out of the courtroom.
And why does the eastern district of New York have jurisdiction over a man in Florida.
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