Man Jailed For Meme About Hillary Clinton Sees His Conviction Overturned

A federal appeals court has thrown out the conviction of Douglass Mackey, the meme creator who was sentenced to seven months in prison for posting a satirical image ahead of the 2016 election. The unanimous decision, issued Tuesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, marks a potential turning point in how the courts treat political speech online.

Mackey, who posted under the alias “Ricky Vaughn,” had been convicted in March 2023 of violating 18 U.S.C. § 241—also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act—for allegedly conspiring to deprive Americans of their right to vote. The Biden Justice Department claimed Mackey’s tweet, which jokingly encouraged Clinton supporters to “vote by text,” was a coordinated attempt to mislead voters.

The court ruled that posting a false meme, even if politically charged or misleading, does not by itself amount to a federal conspiracy unless there is clear evidence of agreement or coordination with others to suppress votes. Prosecutors accused Mackey of working with others from September to November 2016 to circulate misleading memes online—one of which showed a woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign. The tweet read, “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925.” Trial testimony revealed that roughly 5,000 people followed the meme’s instructions.However, nearly all received an automated message clarifying that the posts weren’t affiliated with the Clinton campaign. The 2nd Circuit concluded there was “no evidence at trial that Mackey’s tweets tricked anyone into failing properly to vote.”

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