We knew politicians and bureaucrats in the Justice Department couldn’t take a joke, but now we know they’re willing to prosecute people over it.
Political meme-maker Douglass Mackey, known on Twitter as “Ricky Vaughn,” has been convicted for election interference in federal court. According to the Justice Department’s press release:
Douglass Mackey, also known as “Ricky Vaughn,” was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn of the charge of Conspiracy Against Rights stemming from his scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote. The verdict followed a one-week trial before United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly. When sentenced, Mackey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Political commentator Todd Herman Tweeted:
The Stalinists have convicted a man of TERRORISM for posting JOKE MEMES.
The Federal Government is our enemy. https://t.co/YuyTbscr4q
— Lawful but awful (@toddeherman) March 31, 2023
Mackey had Tweeted memes calling for voters to text “Hillary” to a number on their cell phone instead of voting in person or by mail. Any reasonable person would see this as an unambiguous joke; anyone stupid enough to think they could vote in a presidential election by text clearly doesn’t hold their vote in a high enough regard to verify before acting.
According to The Post Millennial:
The Department of Justice alleged that this constituted election interference, despite being unable to provide evidence that anyone was deceived by the meme. Mackey argued that he was simply trying to create a viral meme, and that other Clinton supporters had posted similar memes encouraging Trump supporters to vote by text without consequence.
An expert witness for the defense withdrew from the trial after being contacted by a reporter from the SPLC. Federal prosecutors claimed that Mackey worked with fellow meme makers to create the Twitter posts and make them as real as possible.
“This wasn’t about changing votes. This was about vaporizing votes, making them disappear,” said Assistant US Attorney Turner Buford. “The number was real and set up to receive incoming messages. The release of these fake campaign ads was timed to flood the internet before Election Day.”
Mackey posted the memes on November 1, a week before the election, and Frisch said that the meme’s message was “ludicrous to anyone with a basic knowledge of how presidential elections work,” the New York Daily Mail reported.
Darren Beattie at Revolver News has been on top of this case for a while. He responded:
As we’ve reported earlier, this is the most important First Amendment case in the country. The Biden DOJ is attempting to codify the disinformation scam into the criminal code. Mackey’s meme conviction, for which he could face up to 10 years in prison, represents the complete breakdown of the rule of law and constitutional norms in this country—we are in uncharted territory.
10 years in prison.
Mackey’s attorney, Andrew J. Frisch, released a brief statement:
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“This case presents an unusual array of compelling appellate issues. I am optimistic that the conviction will be vacated.”
Statement from Andrew J. Frisch: “This case presents an unusual array of compelling appellate issues. I am optimistic that the conviction will be vacated.”
Please support us here in the next phase of this process:https://t.co/7DExAUhLhVhttps://t.co/RG1i3vwWtM https://t.co/HfKXycREdf
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) March 31, 2023
10 years in prison. For making memes.
Yes, the federal government and their handlers in the Deep State are our enemies. This conviction is trying to send a message of intimidation and lunacy. They’re trying to act like they’re crazy enough to do anything because apparently they are.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
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Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
