Meme-Maker Sentenced to Seven Months in Prison for Attempting to Trick Voters

Brett T. | 11:00 PM on October 19, 2023

Back during Twitter 1.0, a whole lot of conservative meme-makers were banned (e.g., Carpe Donktum). Douglas Mackey made up a graphic suggesting that you could vote for Hillary Clinton via text. He was sentenced Wednesday to seven months in prison. Seven months isn't long, but the time it's taken for this case to move through the justice system certainly has. The Justice Department sent out a press release Wednesday announcing the sentencing:

“One of the foundational rights we hold as Americans, a right that many fought so hard to obtain, is the right to vote. The defendant weaponized disinformation in a dangerous scheme to stop targeted groups, including black and brown people and women, from participating in our democracy,” stated United States Attorney [Breon] Peace. “This groundbreaking prosecution demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who commit crimes that threaten our democracy and seek to deprive people of their constitutional right to vote.”
As proven at trial, by 2016, Mackey had established an audience on Twitter with approximately 58,000 followers. A February 2016 analysis by the MIT Media Lab ranked Mackey as one of the most significant influencers of the then-upcoming presidential election. Between September 2016 and November 2016, Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter users and with members of private online groups to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages that encouraged supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to “vote” via text message or social media which was legally invalid.

The reason I bring this up is not to excuse Mackey (although I don't think he should have been prosecuted). But why only him?

In 2016 @mskristinawong posted a tweet and video jokingly trying to trick Trump voters into not voting. Douglas Mackey did the exact same thing to Hillary voters. The DOJ just threw Mackey in prison. Wong was never charged with anything, and this tweet is still up. pic.twitter.com/8stqn0n1oS
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 19, 2023

Yeah, we don't see the difference. Maybe it's because Kristina Wong wasn't targeting "black and brown people and women." She was just going after MAGA types, who are the biggest domestic terror threat in the country.

I think it's pretty clear now that the people in power are more than happy to use the justice system to throw in jail their political opponents. 2 people doing the same thing, one goes to jail, the other doesn't even get charged, it all comes down to who they are loyal to.
— The Knight Crew (@JohnKnightcrew) October 19, 2023

The usual from the left pic.twitter.com/cBIfQwSq01
— TheDarkXRises (@TheDarkXRises) October 19, 2023

This is just flat out unbelievable. How much more evidence of a two tiered "justice system" is needed?
— StephTuittRules (@StephTuittRules) October 19, 2023