in Biden, Politics, Social Media

Trump Supporter Gets Case Tossed After Biden DOJ Was Ready To Imprison Him For Memes

Douglass Mackey

Douglass Mackey, a vocal Trump supporter targeted by the Biden Department of Justice for sharing political memes, had his conviction overturned Wednesday by a federal appeals court — effectively ending the Biden DOJ’s push to imprison him for up to 10 years over online speech.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction, ruling there was not enough evidence to uphold it. The panel directed the lower court to immediately dismiss the case and enter a judgment of acquittal.

“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out my conviction for lack of evidence. The case has been remanded to the district court with orders to immediately dismiss,” Mackey announced on X. “Hallelujah!”

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Mackey, known online as “Ricky Vaughn,” was charged just days after Joe Biden took office in 2021 — more than four years after he posted the memes during the 2016 presidential race. The DOJ claimed Mackey “conspired to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate” voters, accusing him of election interference for sharing satirical content online.

One meme cited by prosecutors featured a woman holding a “Blacks for Hillary” sign, encouraging viewers to “avoid the line” and “vote from home” by texting a number. Mackey’s defense — backed by legal experts and free speech advocates — maintained the image was clearly political satire, protected under the First Amendment.

Despite the meme being published in 2016, the DOJ didn’t charge Mackey until 2021. He was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to seven months in prison, though the sentence was put on hold during appeal.

Mackey declined to ask President Trump for a pardon after Trump’s 2024 re-election, saying he believed his case would set an important precedent in the courts.

“Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit,” he said at the time, warning that the DOJ was politically weaponizing the law.

After the ruling, Mackey posted simply: “Now we sue,” indicating plans to pursue legal action against the federal government for what many see as a clear-cut abuse of power and an attack on free expression.