A notorious Trump Troll, Douglass Mackey who is better known by his online persona as Ricky Vaughn has been sentenced to seven months in federal prison.
According to CNBC, the man is a right-wing social media personality who orchestrated a campaign on X (formerly Twitter) in 2016. The 33-year-old influencer reportedly suppressed Democratic turnout by throwing memes and misinformation that targeted Trump's rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Man Spread Falsehood About Election on Twitter
A Politico report wrote that Mackey was convicted in March on charges of conspiracy against rights following a federal trial in Brooklyn.
According to the prosecutors, Mackey, who boasted 58,000 Twitter followers, conspired with others between September and November 2016 to disseminate fake claims. Their primary falsehood was that Hillary Clinton's supporters could cast their votes for her through text messages or social media posts.
As an example, Mackey tweeted a photo depicting a woman beside an "African Americans for Hillary" sign, alongside text that read, "Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text 'Hillary' to 59925."
Related Article : Secret Search Warrant Issued to Investigate Donald Trump's Twitter Data, Unsealed Court Documents Reveal
Weaponized Disinformation
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace commented that Mackey "weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy."
Mackey's attorney, Andrew Frisch, requested that the judge refrain from imposing a prison sentence. Frisch emphasized that Mackey initiated psychotherapy in 2018 intending to turn his life around and stated that his client had evolved from the person known as Ricky Vaughn seven years ago.
In another story by The New York Times, Mackey is described as "one of the leading members" of the group that spearheaded the election conspiracy. The publication said that it is "nothing short of an assault on our democracy."
As a result, the Trump supporter's defense plea was rejected and Judge Ann M. Donnelly took a swipe at this action. Because of this, Mackey was sentenced to be imprisoned for seven months and was slapped with a $15,000 fine. This only means that spreading misinformation about the election is no joke at all and everyone should take this matter with all seriousness.
Sidney Powell Guilty Over Anti-Racketeering Law
Another report by AP indicated that Sidney Powell, a lawyer by profession will be serving a six-year probation on top of a $6,000 fine.
Aside from Powell and Trump, 17 other people were charged due to their violation of the anti-racketeering law.
Specifically, Powell was accused of conspiring to tweak how the election duties were arranged. As a result, she was guilty of six misdemeanors.
For the past years, Twitter and Trump have been battling like rivals. The former US President was once banned on the platform for his controversial tweet that incited violence in 2021.
The following year, Trump criticized the Elon Musk-owned platform for banning US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
