A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a right-wing influencer’s conviction for spreading misinformation online about ways to vote in the 2016 presidential election in an attempt to stifle Democratic turnout.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Douglass Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal, after determining that trial evidence failed to prove he joined others in a conspiracy to influence the election.
“The jury’s verdict and the resulting judgment of conviction must be set aside,” Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote for the unanimous panel.
Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison after a jury found him guilty of attempting to trick individuals out of exercising their right to vote by posting memes falsely suggesting that supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could vote by text.
In one instance, he posted an image showing a Black woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign that read: “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925” and “Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.” It said the post was paid for by Clinton’s campaign and included her campaign slogan, “#ImWithHer.”
At the time, Mackey had approximately 58,000 followers, according to the Justice Department.
Trial evidence showed that approximately 5,000 people ultimately texted the keyword “Hillary” to the number. However, the appeals court noted, “about 98 percent” of those people received an automated warning that the code was not associated with the Clinton campaign.
The panel said the government presented “no evidence” at trial that the misleading posts actually resulted in duping anyone into voting improperly.
“Praise God. God is good. Now we sue,” Mackey wrote in a series of posts on X following the decision.
A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, declined to comment.
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