Appeals Court Overturns Conviction of Pro-Trump Influencer
An appeals court has reversed a felony conviction against a pro-Trump social media influencer who was facing prison time for posting satirical memes on Twitter.
Douglas McKee, who was known online as Ricky Vaughn, expressed his thoughts on the Glen Beck program, saying, “On Thursday, we discuss his reaction to a recent ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”
“It’s not the sweeping constitutional ruling we were hoping for, but, you know, it’s still a significant win,” he noted. After battling legal challenges for over four years and being threatened with a seven-month prison sentence, Mackey told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, “Only faith can pull us through this.”
Back in 2016, Mackey tweeted a meme that he claimed garnered approximately 100 likes before his account, which had over 60,000 followers, was suspended. The meme featured a message reading “Save time” with instructions suggesting how to “vote from home” for then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Beck described the situation by stating, “You’d have to be a fool to take this seriously. [The meme is, in fact, real].”
Mackey defended his post, classified by some as obviously satirical, against claims that it conspired to interfere with Americans’ voting rights in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
He recounted the moment four FBI agents came to his door at 7 am, just a week after Joe Biden’s inauguration. “They asked, ‘Are you Douglas Mackey? I have a warrant for your arrest.’ My immediate reaction was, ‘For what?'” he shared.
Mackey explained that even though he was active on Twitter during the election cycle, he wasn’t particularly aware of this specific meme. He emphasized, “I was genuinely curious to know what they were basing this on.”
Supreme Judge Debra Ann Livingston, one of the three judges on the appellate panel, noted that the prosecution’s evidence did not convincingly link Mackey to a conspiracy. Prosecutors allegedly sent text messages to around 4,900 unique phone numbers connected to the meme, yet 98% received auto-responses clarifying that Clinton’s campaign had no association with the post.
Livingston stated, “The government did not present any evidence that Mackey’s tweets misled voters regarding their ability to vote correctly.”
Mackey labeled the case as “complete humiliation” on the part of the Biden DOJ, voicing his dissatisfaction that the court’s decision lacked the “defensible” constitutional ruling he had hoped for. He explained, “If these courts come to a conclusion, let’s say, one of the grounds doesn’t override the others.” While the ruling wasn’t what he wanted, he still saw significance in the outcome.
