Following a legal battle, freedom of speech prevails as a federal appeals court overturned the conviction of a conservative social media influencer charged with spreading election “misinformation.”
Read the tweet further down this post.
The three-judge panel dismantled the Biden DOJ’s case against Douglass Mackey for posting memes during the 2016 election, ruling that there was insufficient evidence of a conspiracy against voters’ rights.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decisive ruling ordering a judgment of acquittal for Mackey, who had been sentenced to seven months in prison last year.
The conservative commentator, who used the online alias “Ricky Vaughn,” had been convicted in March 2023 for allegedly attempting to suppress Democrat turnout by posting satirical memes suggesting Clinton supporters could vote via text message.
In their ruling, the appeals court determined that the Biden administration’s DOJ failed to prove Mackey participated in any conspiracy to deprive citizens of their voting rights.
The three-judge panel—consisting of appointees from both Republican and Democrat presidents—found that posting memes alone did not constitute evidence of illegal activity.
Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Judges Reena Raggi and Beth Robinson wrote:
“The mere fact that he posted the memes, even assuming that he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote, is not enough, standing alone, to prove a violation of the conspiracy law. The government was obligated to show that Mackey knowingly entered into an agreement with other people to pursue that objective. This the government failed to do.”
The case highlights the past administration’s aggressive targeting of conservative voices while ignoring similar tactics from the left.
Additionally, prosecutors claimed that approximately 5,000 people texted the number shown in one of Mackey’s memes.
Still, the court noted that 98% received automated messages indicating the method was invalid, and there was no evidence anyone was actually prevented from voting properly.
Mackey’s legal ordeal began after his posts during the 2016 election cycle, when he had around 58,000 followers.
One meme falsely suggested Clinton supporters could vote by texting a specific number not affiliated with her campaign—a joke that prosecutors attempted to frame as criminal election interference.
“HALLELUJAH!” Mackey responded to the ruling, which overturned what many conservatives saw as a politically motivated prosecution.
The government’s case relied heavily on private Twitter group messages as evidence of conspiracy.
However, the court determined that there was no proof that Mackey participated in these exchanges.
Moreover, this ruling contrasts with the trial judge’s previous characterization of Mackey as “one of the leading members of a conspiracy that was nothing short of an assault on our democracy.”
“The jury’s verdict and the resulting judgment of conviction must be set aside,” Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote in the court’s opinion, dealing a significant blow to the Biden DOJ’s attempts to criminalize political speech.
Following his legal victory, Mackey expressed both relief and determination to seek justice for what many see as governmental overreach, stating: “Praise God. God is good. Now we sue.”
The Eastern District of New York, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment on its embarrassing defeat.
This case serves as a reminder of the ongoing battle to protect First Amendment rights against government attempts to regulate and criminalize political speech that challenges the establishment narrative.
🚨BREAKING: The 2nd Circuit has overturned Douglass Mackey’s conviction for sharing memes about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. pic.twitter.com/W8DYSIMdD8
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 9, 2025
