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The Douglass Mackey case is a crucial First Amendment battle that’s flown under the radar for far too many Americans. About eight years ago, Mackey posted a meme on Twitter that poked fun at Hillary supporters, suggesting they were clueless about voting—telling them to “avoid the line” and simply text their vote instead. It was all in jest, part of the online “meme warfare.” So, Mackey’s little joke, poking fun at Hillary fans for not knowing how to vote, has blown up into this huge ordeal. Now, he’s ended up in a New York City courtroom, slapped with “conspiracy” and “election interference” charges, and believe it or not, he was actually convicted and is heading to federal prison. Talk about an over-the-top reaction to what was clearly just a light-hearted and funny meme. This whole saga really makes you wonder where we’re drawing the line between humor and free speech online.

Doug Mackey's lawyer tells jury client was 's---posting'

And just to set the record straight, the left played the same game. Liberal pundit Kristina Wong, decked out in full MAGA garb, shot a video telling Trump supporters they could just text their vote. Nothing happened to her. Talk about a typical “left-wing” double standard, right?

Doug’s interview with the popular magazine “Man’s World” explained what happened perfectly:

Douglass, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and what led you to support Donald Trump in the 2016 election?

Sure. I’m 34 years old and I was born in Washington, D. C. My family lived in Colorado and then Vermont, where I attended a small school in Middlebury, Middlebury College. I then moved to New York City and worked there for five or six years. It was when I was living in NYC that I created a Twitter account, “@RickyVaughn99.” That was about a year before Trump ran for office. Trump announced he was running, and that’s when I got behind him.

I didn’t really know anything about Trump and didn’t understand that he was running a serious candidacy until his announcement. But I was really attracted to his populist message, railing against political correctness and speaking to a lot of issues that were off topic that the elites didn’t want to focus on, like trade, immigration, failed foreign policy. That was what really attracted me to Trump. Later on down the road, I posted the two infamous memes in November 2016 that said, “get out to vote for Hillary, text your vote to this number.” It was just two memes that I had found on 4chan and thought were humorous. I thought maybe it would get a rise out of some people, or maybe not, to be quite honest with you.

Five years later, I was arrested for posting those memes, seven days after Joe Biden was inaugurated. I was convicted of a conspiracy to deprive citizens of their right to vote. And after I was convicted, the judge sentenced me to seven months in prison. She completely summarily denied our appeal or ask for a bond. And we didn’t even file a motion. There was no hearing. She just denied it outright. So we went to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals with my appellate team. And we appealed the bond decision, which was overturned. So I’m out on bond and waiting on the oral arguments for the appeal of my case in the Second Circuit, which will be April 5th. My appellate team has turned in all the motions necessary for this appeal. I live in Florida now with my wife and my young son, just waiting for the appeal and to move on with life.

This article by Noor Bin Ladin, who intriguingly is the right-wing niece of Osama Bin Laden, offers a fascinating perspective that we highly recommend diving into:

In Conversation with Douglass Mackey

In truth, one of the scariest aspects of this situation is that it’s not exclusive to the United States. The suppression of speech and humor is becoming a global nightmare. Take Scotland, for example, where comedians are now finding themselves in the crosshairs, potentially facing hate crime charges for being “funny.”

The Herald: 

Police Scotland’s officers are being told they should target actors and comedians under Scotland’s new hate crime laws.

Training, obtained by The Herald, states that material regarded as “threatening and abusive” under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) can be communicated “through public performance of a play.”

The Scottish Tories said this appeared to be at odds with the legislation and called for the force to explain.

Meanwhile, The Herald also understands that the Assistant Chief Constable responsible for overseeing the implementation of the controversial legislation has retired after just a year in the post.

David Duncan was made ACC and put in charge of Policing Together, Police Scotland’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, in January last year.

The force said a recruitment process for a replacement would start this month, with the Policing Together portfolio “being looked after by another chief officer in the interim.”

The new hate crime legislation consolidates some existing laws and creates a new offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics, including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.

Police Scotland has promised that it will investigate every hate crime complaint reported, despite the force adopting a “proportionate response” approach to other crimes.

Don’t think this could happen in the US? Well, think again. Because without a strong stand against this authoritarian agenda, we’re next in line. That’s precisely why we need fighters like Mr. Mackey leading the charge.

RELATED: Most Important First Amendment Case You’ve Never Heard Of: Biden Regime Tries to Toss a Young Man in Jail for 10 Years for Anti-Hillary Memes

Right now, the smartest strategy for Douglass Mackey is to amplify his story and make sure the truth reaches every corner of this country. He needs to ensure the anti-free speech narrative that’s unfolding in our so-called “land of the free” is heard loud and clear by every American. And, indeed, Mackey is doing exactly that, and as a result, he’s got the Biden regime on the ropes. There’s nothing more powerful than shining a light on a group of filthy cockroaches and watching them scatter. He’s a fighter and is taking action by going on a media blitz, and you know it’s ruffling feathers in the Biden regime. The timing couldn’t be better, as sham charges against President Trump begin to crumble. Mackey’s efforts to spotlight his ordeal, seen by many as a “trial run” for the cooked-up, politically-motivated indictments against President Trump, are so crucial, especially in this time of political persecution.

Mr. Mackey has been very active on X, sharing a series of impactful interviews he’s given. Through these, he’s called out the unfairness of his conviction while also shining a light on the ugly and dangerous reality of anti-American censorship and political persecution coming from the Biden regime.

Here’s what Mr. Mackey had to say in a recent X post:

-“There’s no clearly established law saying this sort of speech, this sort of satire is illegal. So therefore there’s no fair notice,” Mackey says. “If we’re going into these gray areas and prosecuting people for speech that is not clearly illegal, that can have a huge chilling effect on speech.”

-“It’s the rough and tumble politics that the Founders understood that they wanted to have, even if some stuff goes over the line,” Mackey says. “We don’t want the federal government to be the Oceania Ministry of Truth, you know from the whole Orwell books … this one’s a joke, this one’s serious, this was not a joke.”

-“There were absolutely offensive things that I said. … I’ve changed a lot,” Mackey says. Yet he says he doesn’t regret his conservative politics or supporting Mr. Trump, and he isn’t going to undergo “some sort of Bolshevik-style political reeducation.”

-“If you’re going to drag people into court over stuff that’s satirical or even borderline satirical, or borderline parody, and charge them with conspiracy, where you don’t even have to prove that anyone was actually harmed, then it definitely cuts both ways,” Mackey says. “You don’t know what kind of regime will come into power and who they’re going to target.”

I sat down with @TheCarolineMc for a great in-depth, expansive interview on my case and the bedrock American principles involved.

Check out these key moments from Douglass Mackey’s profound and insightful interview with Caroline:

Another one:

And:

We highly suggest you watch the full interview below:

Mackey also appeared on the wildly popular Dinesh D’Souza podcast, a perfect platform considering D’Souza’s latest film release that throws a spotlight on the Police State the United States has evolved into, particularly under the watch of the Obama and Biden regimes.

Watch the full interview below or on Rumble:

In addition, Mackey’s interview with Caroline McCaughey was written up in the New York Sun, which discussed his appeal fight in more detail, and how confident he feels about this battle. The message Mr. Mackey shared was that he can win it, but he can’t do it alone.

The New York Sun:

Mackey is out on bond pending his appeal with the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He sat down with the Sun this week to discuss his case, which has become, according to the Harvard Law Review, “a lightning rod for legal spectators. And rightfully so.” Oral arguments begin April 5.

“I’m feeling very optimistic and very confident. The appeal is very strong,” Mackey tells the Sun. “This meme was clearly a parody. It’s clearly satire.”

More than 4,000 persons texted the number listed on the memes, one of which pictured a black woman with an “African Americans for Hillary” sign with the text “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home.” Mackey says he found the memes on 4chan and copied and pasted them to his feed. The image included a phone number and the Clinton campaign hashtags #ImWithHer and #GoHillary.

The vast majority of the texts to the meme number were made after several news outlets reported on the memes. Mackey says that some of the texts to the number said things like, “Hillary for prison,” and that the government failed to produce any witnesses who texted the number and then did not vote in person as a result.

The Harvard Law Review weighed in on Mackey’s appeal this month, concurring with Mackey that it “does indeed strain belief” to think Americans would be fooled by these memes. Mackey’s “Ricky Vaughn” Twitter profile picture was of Charlie Sheen with a red “Make America Great Again” hat. The memes were part of a Twitter feed filled with pro-Trump posts and often racist and antisemitic content. He was not hiding his political beliefs.

“While many would consider the speech in question to be repellent, the precedent created by Mackey is a dangerous one that lessens First Amendment protections in the digital marketplace of ideas,” the Harvard Law Review article says. “Using memes to prove a criminal conspiracy risks chilling a vast amount of speech on social media, especially if this is done without consideration of mens rea,” or criminal intent.

Doug Mackey isn’t just standing his ground; he’s gearing up for a monumental showdown at the Supreme Court of the United States, championing our right to share memes, wield sarcasm, and speak our minds freely online. Yet, as you might guess, such a battle doesn’t come cheap. Thrust into a “David vs. Goliath” scenario he never sought out or deserved, Mackey—just an average Joe caught in the crosshairs—needs our support to contest this unjust conviction. It’s a call to action for all of us: consider contributing to Mackey’s legal defense fund. Right now, he’s in the trenches for every one of us, fighting a battle he shouldn’t have to face alone. Let’s rally behind him, push back against the Biden administration’s misuse of our justice system, and safeguard our freedoms once and for all.

Stay in the loop with Doug’s battle for free speech by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. It’s your ticket to crucial updates on this tremendously important case.

Doug’s Substack

Here’s how you can donate to Douglass Mackey’s fight for our free speech:

Support: memedefensefund.com or givesendgo.com/douglassmackey

Send cash, money order or checks made out to Douglass Mackey to: Douglass Mackey, PO Box 6332, Delray Beach, FL 33482

Send Crypto:

Bitcoin: bc1qp53hutv9d0qngyvm3wcxeyhnp0srcysghnrhj9

Ethereum: 0xBb078c6823B0d0d35738aa55f0a7F36CA37e4434

Litecoin: ltc1qp7m4ll7ckw77jtraj9rl7xuve56q45d850k4dq

Monero: 41kkLhRfRXVJo9ts5pdZcJ3LUUddhtTsLTMWKi8bi32Ve1Djmz7GxBF957hTyh4yPfK3XxYCQGXYTdv4ur46mjJp5NJZaUiZ

ZCash Private Wallet: zs1zk6cs9w5286p3vrktsfhezvzx7c752u4fj7qc4agg3s8j0gz6laernzvta2m6ylu3d26w37efyk

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Also, let’s keep Douglass Mackey in our prayers, asking for God’s support and strength to help him confront this monumental battle, not just for himself but for the entire country.

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