NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A right-wing social media influencer was sentenced to seven months in federal prison on Wednesday for spreading falsehoods via Twitter, now known as X, in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election.
Douglass Mackey, who posted under the alias Ricky Vaughn, of the charge of conspiracy against rights after a trial in federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors said Mackey, who had 58,000 Twitter followers, conspired with others between September and November of 2016 to post falsely that supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton could vote for her by text message or social media post.
For example, they said, Mackey tweeted a photo of a woman standing in front of an 鈥淎frican Americans for Hillary鈥� sign. 鈥淎void the Line. Vote from Home,鈥� the tweet said. 鈥淭ext 鈥楬illary鈥� to 59925."
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that Mackey 鈥渨eaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy.鈥�
Mackey鈥檚 attorney, Andrew Frisch, asked in a memorandum to the judge that his client be spared prison. Frisch said that Mackey started psychotherapy in 2018 in an effort to change his life and "is not Ricky Vaughn of seven years ago.鈥�
Judge Ann M. Donnelly denied the request. The New York Times that before issuing his sentence, Donnelly said Mackey had been 鈥渙ne of the leading members鈥� of a conspiracy that was 鈥渘othing short of an assault on our democracy.鈥�
The Associated Press
