Election Day is upon us, but we can’t lose sight of what we’re truly fighting for. At the top of that list is the freedom to speak our minds online—to share opinions, post jokes and memes, and live without the constant scrutiny of a humorless, tyrannical regime determined to weaponize the U.S. government against political dissent. Sadly, that’s exactly what we’re up against now, thanks to a Harris/Biden administration that’s gone completely rogue.
No one understands the destructive power of a weaponized DOJ better than Douglass Mackey, a young man tried and convicted for sharing a satirical anti-Hillary meme back in 2016. His story stands as a chilling reminder of what’s at stake.
This Election Day, Douglass Mackey is speaking out, sharing his experience, and exposing the DOJ’s dangerous weaponization. If you haven’t heard his story, read on below—it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.
RELATED: Biden Regime Tries to Toss a Young Man in Jail for 10 Years for Anti-Hillary Memes
He wrote a fascinating guest piece for the highly respected and popular political blog Zero Hedge.
Authored by Douglass Mackey
The Right To Bear Memes
It’s hard to believe, but here we are. Sharing a joke—a meme meant to poke fun at Hillary Clinton supporters—has become a criminal offense. I posted a satirical meme in 2016, telling Hillary supporters they could skip the line by “voting by text.” It was an obvious joke, something that should have been protected under the First Amendment. Yet, the Biden regime has weaponized our justice system to punish me, labeling this obvious satire as “election interference.” Meanwhile, just recently, Jimmy Kimmel used his late-night TV show—broadcasted over federally licensed airwaves—to joke about Trump supporters voting on the wrong day. But there’s no FBI beating down his door, no threat of prison time for him. This glaring double standard makes it crystal clear: the justice system is being wielded as a weapon against anyone who dares challenge the regime’s narrative.
Jimmy Kimmel: "If you want to vote for Trump, vote late. Vote very late. Do your voting on Thursday or maybe Friday." pic.twitter.com/Il1Ch6S0eE
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 31, 2024
On January 27, 2021, five days after Joe Biden’s inauguration, FBI agents knocked at my door. I was the man behind the popular pro-Trump Twitter account @RickyVaughn99. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York claimed that I violated 18 USC 241, which punishes conspiring to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” for exercising their constitutional or federal rights, with penalties of up to ten years in prison. The statute is designed to prevent violent voter suppression. It has never been used to prosecute speech. In 2023, I was convicted at trial in the Eastern District of New York and sentenced to seven months in prison. During my trial, the DOJ couldn’t produce a single person who failed to vote because of the meme I shared. Not one single person. They even admitted my case was about setting a precedent, a “test” to criminalize satire that steps out of line. Scary, dystopian stuff.
Ep. 38 The First Amendment is done. Douglass Mackey is about to go to prison for mocking Hillary Clinton on the internet. We talked to him right before his sentencing. Remember as you watch that this could be you.
TIMESTAMPS:
(3:12) The Hillary Clinton meme
(4:20) Hillary’s… pic.twitter.com/MLwz2SboGr— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 9, 2023
The district court denied my request for an appeal bond despite the strength of the appeal. That decision was reversed by a bipartisan panel at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. My appeal was officially filed in January of this year and argued in April of this year.
I am gratified by today’s ruling and look forward to the Second Circuit’s resolution of the important questions presented by my appeal.https://t.co/7DExAUhLhV pic.twitter.com/1D8pGSVTip
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) December 5, 2023
But this isn’t just about me; it’s about every American’s right to free speech and to criticize those in power without fear of prosecution. A favorable ruling in this milestone First Amendment case would severely curtail the ability of the federal government to weaponize the DOJ against conservative political speech–or really, any speech unfavorable to the administration in power. In fact, according to a Reuters article based on FBI and DOJ sources, my prosecution is a test case designed to set “the stage for new ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ cases against more prominent conservative actors” that the government doesn’t like. At trial, the Justice Department could not produce a single person that did not vote because of the meme, claiming that all they needed to do was to prove that a “conspiracy” to disenfranchise voters existed. Proof of such a “conspiracy” was entirely circumstantial–no direct evidence was offered that I conspired to create this meme, distribute it, or actually intended to disenfranchise any voters. My cause has been championed by President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, Jr., and many other political figures. The Harvard Law Review recognized the prosecution as a grievous attack on satire. My appeal in the 2nd Circuit featured an amicus brief by prominent First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh, among others.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "They're putting Douglass Mackey in jail for sharing a joking meme about Hillary Clinton seven years ago. Nobody ever heard of anything like that." pic.twitter.com/YXajRAz1Lh
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) July 21, 2024
Prison for a Meme: They Want Us All Silenced and Locked Up, Douglass Mackey Speaks Out! Many of you if you were following online, may know him as Ricky Vaughan and outspoken original political Memer. Now they want to throw him in jail! Tonight 6pm! https://t.co/boMI1FspZ1
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 7, 2023
But legal battles are costly, especially when facing the deep pockets and power of the federal government. I need your help to keep fighting, not just for me, but for everyone’s right to speak freely—all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary. You can support my defense by donating to the Meme Defense Fund at memedefensefund.com, a project of the registered 501(c)3 non-profit foundation the American Cause. Donations are tax-deductible. Check and cash donations can be made out to “American Cause—Meme Defense—10321 Hunt Farm Ln, Oakton, VA 22124.” Other options to donate, including sending cash or crypto, are available at douglassmackey.com. This case isn’t just mine—it’s ours, and it’s about the future of free speech in America.
https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1823140472228905179
Revolver has been following this case from the get-go, and we’ve covered it from every possible angle. Our hope is that Elon Musk will take notice of it and jump in to help Douglass as he fights for free speech online, a cause that Elon is dedicated to. We actually published a story not too long ago, asking Elon to fund Mackey’s appeal.
Last August, Elon Musk offered to pay the legal bills for users who “were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform.” He has followed through by funding lawsuits from former Mandalorian star Gina Carano, whom Disney fired over tweets critical of J6 hysteria; Chloe Happe, or @bronzeageshawty, whom Jack Dorsey’s company Block fired for politically incorrect tweets about transgenders; and Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill, a Canadian physician whom the old Twitter regime censored and who faced state-sponsored “cautions” being placed on her permanent public record for questioning the efficacy of lockdowns and vaccines.
If Musk wants to continue to defend the free speech of X users in court, the most important case now is the government’s unjust prosecution of Doug Mackey. Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison for posting a meme about Hillary Clinton last year and is appealing his case to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday.
Beyond being “the most shocking attack on freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes,” according to Tucker Carlson, the old regime at Twitter was instrumental in Mackey’s prosecution, and the FBI has used it as precedent to continue to harass X.
Revolver has already written extensively on Mackey’s case. To recap: Douglass Mackey ran the legendary pro-Trump anonymous account @RickyVaughn99 prior to the 2016 election. He posted two memes on 4chan that joked that you could vote by text message and posted them on his account. Four years later, less than a week into the Biden administration, FBI agents showed up at his house and arrested him under 18 USC 241, conspiracy against civil rights—a law enacted to punish Klan violence. Prosecutors could not produce a single person who took the meme seriously, let alone failed to vote because of it.
To make matters worse, the government indicted Mackey in Brooklyn’s Eastern District of New York, where Clinton’s campaign was headquartered, and she won 79% of the vote. Neither Mackey nor his “co-conspirators” (i.e., members of pro-Trump group chats) ever set foot in the district. At trial, the Southern Poverty Law Center intimidated one of Mackey’s expert witnesses from testifying by threatening to go contact his employer, and the judge allowed it.
You can read the entire article by clicking below:
Dear Elon: America Needs You to Back Doug Mackey’s First Amendment Fight
At Revolver, we’ve long held that the Doug Mackey case is the First Amendment battle of our time. If we sit back and let the Deep State’s conviction stand, the consequences will be unimaginable and will strike at the very heart of free speech for all of us in ways we can’t even begin to imagine. This isn’t just Mackey’s fight—it’s a fight for your right to speak freely online. But he can’t take on this battle alone. He needs our support. If you stand with Douglass Mackey, you stand for your voice as well.
READ MORE: Fetterman’s latest comments have many wondering if he’s the next Dem to pop a ‘red pill’…
We encourage you to visit Zero Hedge and read their entire piece on the DOJ weaponization. You can do so by clicking here.
JOIN THE FIGHT — DITCH THE ADS — READ THE NEWSFEED — FOLLOW ON X — GAB — GETTR — TRUTH SOCIAL
Join the Discussion