Posted on 10/21/2023 6:09:46 AM PDT by devane617
It took an FBI investigation, a three-week trial, and lots of taxpayer dollars, but the government finally got what it wanted this week: A Florida man is heading to federal prison for disseminating trollish memes during the 2016 election season that prosecutors alleged "deprive[d] people of their constitutional right to vote."
In the months leading up to Election Day, Douglass Mackey, an erstwhile far-right social media influencer, posted a series of photos on his Twitter profile—which had about 58,000 followers under the name "Ricky Vaughn"—encouraging Hillary Clinton–supporters to cast their votes by phone. That obviously didn't go so well for the people who fell for it. But however you feel about Mackey's obnoxious brand of politics and feeble attempt at comedy, the case became about a lot more than him, raising questions about protected speech, overcriminalization, and a politicized Department of Justice.
To prosecute Mackey, the government leveraged a law from 1870, a century and change before Twitter trolling would become a sport. That legislation was passed to deter the Ku Klux Klan from trying to prevent black people from voting, as they were known to do. According to the indictment, the DOJ alleged Mackey conspired to "injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to wit: the right to vote."
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
This is one of the hills I die on.
Where was the left idiot who voted such? Just one? Only one? There weren’t any.
Do they not teach Civics or Free Enterprise in schools anymore? I’m old but has it changed that much? Like Christmas Day, Election Day is always the same. How can someone be fooled by a meme?
Anyone stupid enough to believe shouldn’t be voting anyway…
The 1870 Twitter laws. He should have known better.
Well gosh darn. If this poor sap with no first amendment rights is convicted then there’s no question all 51 of those who signed on to the Russia, Russia, Russia farce and those who run social media platforms who took orders from the US government to censor Americans should also be convicted and get 10 times the time this comedy meme by Mackey gets.
I mean fair is fair. Right is right. Right?
Justice is either blind and fair to all or it’s not. There’s no gray area on this.
did the government find even ONE victim of this supposed crime?
if not this is political prosecution plain and simple
1. “How can someone be fooled by a meme?”
2. “Anyone stupid enough to believe shouldn’t be voting anyway.”
The decision basically says minorities are too stupid to know when and how to vote. Ergo, this is a virulently racist conviction and sentencing.
It’s the same as Oregon not requiring exit standards for high school to “help” minorities. Oregon says minorities are too stupid to learn, IOW, a racist condemnation of minorities.
Kristina Wong did the same thing. Of course since she is a flaming Leftist she isn’t even questioned much less tried and convicted.
Bttt.
5.56mm
“Deprived people of their right to vote” only if they were so stupid they didn’t know you can never vote by phone. Aside from being the most ridiculous case ever heard of, I think anything that can be done to stand in the way of STUPID people voting is a good thing.
Douglass Mackey tweeted a fake flier during the 2016 presidential campaign that said people could text their votes for Hillary Clinton
to a "avoid the line." Mackey is charged with one count of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights. (Twitter via Courthouse News)
I guess the reasoning is that since Democrats are by nature, stupid, they would fall for it.
Ok, I’ll ask the ‘dumb’ question. Why can’t/won’t the Supreme Court step in and overrule this as an obvious corruption of the 1870 law and HUGE violation of free speech, given all the other more deceptive and extreme examples of things spoken or written that weren’t true but misled people?
Must be he had a filter so only “Black” people could see/read his stuff.
When is Hillary going to be Prosecuted for her Fraudulent Actions regarding russian collusion???
Why not go after all those people that keep calling my phone lying about what they are pushing. Ya know “scam artists”.
Time for states to offer sanctuary to citizens from the gestapo freaks running fascist New York. Declare New York a criminal, terrorist state.
More evidence we’ve crossed the Rubicon.
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