Twitter user Douglass Mackey sentenced to 7 months in prison after being found guilty of election interference for making memes disparaging Hillary Clinton

Meme-maker Douglass Mackey was sentenced in New York criminal court on Wednesday after a March conviction for conspiracy against rights, ie election interference, over memes he created during the 2016 presidential election that disparaged Hillary Clinton. 

Mackey was sentenced to 7 months in prison for the crime of making memes the DOJ didn't think were funny. A fundraiser has been launched for his ongoing legal defense.

The case was heard in the US Court of the Eastern District of New York. Mackey, who was known as Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, was found guilty of the federal charge after making memes that jokingly encouraged Hillary Clinton supporters to cast their votes via text mesage. This is not actually a viable form of voting, which Mackey, and everyone else, knew. There was no evidence to suggest that any voter attempted to cast their ballot via text in response to Mackey's meme.

Douglass Mackey, the man “on trial for memes,” was sentenced to seven months in prison Wednesday for his efforts to trick Hillary Clinton voters into staying home on Election Day in 2016. @NikaSchoonover https://t.co/0u8YsjmGdG

— Courthouse News (@CourthouseNews) October 18, 2023