Social media influencer charged with election interference in 2016 sentenced to prison
Social media influencer Douglass Mackey was sentenced Wednesday to seven months in prison for interfering with the 2016 election.
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that Mackey, who went by the name “Ricky Vaughn” on social media, was handed a seven-month prison sentence after being convicted at trial for conspiracy against rights. Mackey, who was a supporter of former Presdient Trump, was convicted of running a scam in 2016 that fooled thousands of people into believing that they could vote by text message.
Vaughn, who in 2016 had 58,000 followers on the platform previously known as Twitter, was accused of conspiring with other prominent Twitter users to put out misleading messages encouraging supporters of former presidential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to “vote” through text message or social media.
The Justice Department described an instance in which Vaughn posted a photo of a Black woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign that stated: “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925” and “Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.” It also said it was paid for by Clinton’s campaign and had her campaign slogan, “#I’mWithHer” included on the tweet.
When Election Day rolled around in 2016, the Justice Department said that at least 4,900 voters had texted “Hillary” or some variation to the number provided.
At the time of his arrest in 2021, Twitter said that it had taken down four of Mackey’s accounts.
Trump was also charged with conspiracy against rights in the federal election interference case brought by the Justice Department earlier this year.
The indictment alleges that Trump “did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege and secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States—that is, the right to vote, and to have one’s vote counted.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
