A federal appeals court has overturned the criminal conviction of Douglass Mackey, a right-wing social media figure who was previously sentenced to prison for posting false voting information during the 2016 presidential election. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Wednesday that the government failed to prove that Mackey had engaged in a criminal conspiracy to suppress votes, ordering a full acquittal.
Mackey, 36, was convicted in March 2023 in federal court in Brooklyn under the rarely used charge of conspiracy against rights. Prosecutors alleged that he conspired with others to deceive Hillary Clinton supporters—especially minorities—into “voting” via text or social media. Memes posted under his alias “Ricky Vaughn” suggested that people could vote by texting “Hillary” to a short code.
2nd Circuit has overturned the conviction of Douglass Mackey in the fake “conspiracy” to defraud voters by posting MEMES about voting-by-text. The Feds prosecuted him in NYC because the Twitter *servers* were there.
A victory for free speech and a loss for bogus prosecutions. pic.twitter.com/iB8dlUr2Dl
— Maxwell Meyer (@mualphaxi) July 9, 2025
Roughly 5,000 individuals interacted with the false posts, but as the appellate ruling noted, no evidence was presented that anyone was actually prevented from voting. Most recipients received automatic replies clarifying that the messages were not affiliated with the Clinton campaign. The court concluded that intent alone, absent proof of a coordinated agreement, did not meet the legal threshold for a conspiracy.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel wrote: “The mere fact that Mackey posted the memes, even assuming he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote, is not enough.” The judges found no evidence that Mackey had actively participated in any coordinated effort with others to carry out the alleged conspiracy.
The 2nd Circuit has UNANIMOUSLY overturned the conviction of Douglass Mackey, who was prosecuted by the Biden Admin for posting “illegal memes” mocking Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Huge win for justice and free speech. https://t.co/acatSasZUD
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 9, 2025
Significantly, the ruling cuts across partisan lines: Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Judge Reena Raggi, both appointed by President George W. Bush, joined Judge Beth Robinson, a Biden appointee, in issuing the decision.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the outcome. At the original sentencing, the trial judge called Mackey’s conduct “an assault on our democracy,” but the appellate court found that the prosecution’s reliance on circumstantial evidence—such as messages from private Twitter groups Mackey may not have even seen—was insufficient.
Four years ago, Douglass Mackey was arrested for posting a Hillary Clinton meme.
Today, the Second Circuit unanimously overturned the conviction.
In Mackey’s honor, share the best memes you’ve got (without the fear of going to jail)
pic.twitter.com/7ibkFgWVWo
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 9, 2025
Mackey, reacting to the ruling on social media, celebrated the reversal and signaled possible legal action in response to what he called an unjust prosecution. One of Mackey’s appellate lawyers, Yaakov Roth, currently serves as principal deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Division.
The post Appeals court Overturns Conviction Regarding Meme’s appeared first on Patriot Newsfeed.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Mark Stevens
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://patriotnewsfeed.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
